A marble inscription was recently excavated at Hadrian’s Villa bearing the text FVLGVR SVBMANIVM (‘lightning of Summano’). It is believed to mark the site of a nocturnal lightning strike and subsequent ritual reverence of the area.

Random notes

• Summano (Summanus?) was an Italic divinity probably analogous to Jupiter who presided over, inter alia, nocturnal lightning
• Roman ritual (fulgur conditum) required things struck by lightning to be buried and the location of the strike subsequently to be consecrated as sacred ground
• other such examples sometimes mention the burial of a lightning bolt which i don’t see mentioned in the Hadrian’s Villa location … perhaps that will come later

Quellen

• Villa Adriana, nell’area dell’Anfiteatro riaffiora una testimonianza del fulgur conditum, l’antico rito romano che consacrava i luoghi colpiti dal fulmine – Ministero della cultura
• Ancient marble engravings at Emperor Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli show how Romans revered lightning strikes | The Independent
• Ancient Roman Inscription Dedicated to Lightning God ‘Summanus’ Found at Hadrian’s Villa – GreekReporter.com
• Rare Roman inscription marks lightning strike at Hadrian’s Villa
• Romans buried traces of lightning strikes for the god Summanus, a 1,900-year-old inscription reveals | Archaeology News Online Magazine
• Rare Inscription Discovered at Hadrian’s Villa Marks a Place Made Sacred by Lightning | Arkeonews
• Romans Believed Lightning Was Sacred and Buried Them as Offerings to God Summanus: A 1,900-Year-Old Inscription Just Proved It
• A Marble Slab at Hadrian’s Villa Records a Lightning Strike Romans Believed Came From a God | Discover Magazine
• [Photo] News – Roman Inscription Marks Lightning Strike at Hadrian’s Villa – Archaeology Magazine

See Also

• Guarda Un fulgur conditum a Todi (Umbria)
• Les inscriptions commémorant la chute de la foudre dans les provinces romaines de la Gaule. A propos d’un nouveau document découvert à Saint-Geoire-en-Valdaine (Isère) – Persée