The Greek testamentary tablet: In the 1914 excursion I was fortunate enough to lay my hands on a fragment of an inscribed copper tablet found, it was wrongly said, in a tiled sepulcher in a region immediately next to S. Eufemia V. This precious inscribed fragment, worthily illustrated by senator D. Comparetti, contains the remains of a testament from the 4th century B.C., which the famous illustrator did not hesitate to attribute to a wealthy citizen of Terina, even though the name of the town does not figure on the tablet. And I adhere fully to the views of Comparetti, because, upon reflection, this testament that was found among the remains of a building (not a sepulcher) cannot have come from anywhere but a Greek city, and the mind leaps to the name Terina. Right next to S. Eufemia V. there is a beautiful terrace called Elemosina, very fit as the seat of a town. It is bathed on the east by the river Bagni, which has eroded the ancient terrace and opened up a gap with a vertical wall that goes from three to ten meters high.

The Tablet of Terina from S. Eufemia Vetere

The esplanade of Elemosina, all of which today is under intensive cultivation, revealed pieces of tiles and pithoi (Greek jars) on the surface, but no other remains of buildings. How can we know what is contained in the subsoil? There remains the fact that the inscribed tablet comes from the countryside of Terravecchia-Elemosina, and that years ago, in the Elemosina area, a large sarcophagus was found with granite scaling, laboriously decorated, whose design attests its value.

Sarcophagus: (original drawing by Paolo Orsi)

II have been told that the sarcophagus only contained bones, but the information can’t be verified. The Elemosina area dominates and oversees the area of Terravecchia, where one also hears that there are sepulchers. Also, two great Greek vessels with figures were allegedly identified years back by an Englishman.

The Spring Baths of S. Biase are located where the river emerges from the mountain gorges. They were known even in antiquity for their healthful effects. Upon visiting these baths, I investigated whether there ever were any archaeological discoveries there, but I learned only of small vessels and some scattered coins, too little on which to base any kind of judgment. And inasmuch as the springs have been active for centuries and have brought about many changes, we cannot assume that all ancient remains have disappeared.