Sulla natura della «lex» del «Niger Lapis». Alcune considerazioni preliminari

The paper addresses some preliminary questions relating to the nature and content of the 'lex regia' of the Niger Lapis. It is evident that there is a close functional link between the archaic sanctuary, located below the black stone floor and the Comitium. There is a new hypothesis that emerges, which relates sacer esto to the locus and not to homines who violated the sacred area, unlike what has been considered by scholars to date. The inscription, perhaps a decretum pontificum, decrees the status of res sacra of the archaic sanctuary of Comitium, indicating at the same time, a series of ritual prescriptions which must first wait for the rex and his auxiliary, the calator.