Twelfth International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

Before time and earthquakes threaten more Italian museums, such as the Roman National Museum of the Baths of Diocletian and the National Naples Archaeological Museum storage facilities, we need to save the Roman Jewish stone epitaphs, those dedicated to women, still remaining to be re-investigated. It is incumbent upon us to accurately revise the outdated and biased Corpus of Jewish Inscriptions, spanning the sixteenth through the early twenty-first centuries. These records continue to be used as original primary sources for archaeological works. The conservation of those Roman Jewish stone epitaphs which memorialize women, and are now in museum storage, is a subject of great magnitude. This study is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to their conservation. Rather, this paper intends to demonstrate how select distinct nuances, gathered through my continuous research, yield a different way of reading, understanding, and interpreting sacred tombstones inscribed in honor of women. For, this is a particularly praiseworthy undertaking, not to be overlooked. The historic preservationist has the duty of drawing international attention to the awareness of scholars, in particular to female Torah scholars, who can provide insights into women’s Jewish history which others will less easily be able to provide. Otherwise, in the event of another earthquake, these precious stone epitaphs, dedicated to Jewish women in ancient Rome, risk total destruction.