Lot 948:
Roman period. Long bronze square section nail with domed head.
116x18 mm. A Roman story related to long bronze nails is that of the clavus annalis. It was an annual ceremony that consisted of driving a 'clavus,' nail, into the right side of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, and it took place on the Ides of September-September 13-the day on which the consecration of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus was celebrated. The rite had been taken up by the Etruscans and was connected to the cult of Norzia, the Etruscan Goddess of Destiny who had her temple in Bolsena; here the rite of the nail had, in addition to the purpose of keeping the count of the years, also the meaning of nailing down and neutralizing an evil spell. The rite was exercised with the hope of immobilizing funereal events and returning them to a new, more propitious course; this interpretation also explains why the Romans likened Norzia to the Goddess Fortuna.
116x18 mm. A Roman story related to long bronze nails is that of the clavus annalis. It was an annual ceremony that consisted of driving a 'clavus,' nail, into the right side of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, and it took place on the Ides of September-September 13-the day on which the consecration of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus was celebrated. The rite had been taken up by the Etruscans and was connected to the cult of Norzia, the Etruscan Goddess of Destiny who had her temple in Bolsena; here the rite of the nail had, in addition to the purpose of keeping the count of the years, also the meaning of nailing down and neutralizing an evil spell. The rite was exercised with the hope of immobilizing funereal events and returning them to a new, more propitious course; this interpretation also explains why the Romans likened Norzia to the Goddess Fortuna.