'Make them die an awful death': Disturbing graffiti found on floors of Roman era prison

The remains of a Roman prison have been identified in Corinth, Greece. Archaeologists haven't found a lot of Roman prisons which makes this latest discovery extremely rare. Some strange graffiti has also been found on the floors of the prison which were likely scribbled by the prisoners. Matthew Larsen, an archaeologist and associate professor of the New Testament at the University of Copenhagen, wrote in the journal Hesperia that "prisons must have existed in almost every Roman town, at least those that had a forum".

"Yet the archaeological remains of prisons have proven exceedingly hard to identify. There is scant evidence of what a Roman prison would have looked like, or where it would have been located."

The prison is around 1,600 years oldand belongs to a time when the Roman Empire controlled the area. Larsen used the records from an excavation that happened back in 1901 to learn more about the site.

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Graffiti found on the floor played a major role in identifying the Roman prison. Eerie words and pleas in the Greek language were found on the site, including one that reads, "May the fortune of those who suffer in this lawless place prevail. Lord, do not show mercy on the one who threw us in here."

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The disturbing graffiti written on the floors was within the boundaries of the cracks. Larsen suggests that this means that when the flooring was put in place, the cracks were likely already there. The pleas were written within the cracks, which backs the idea that this site was a prison.

Graffiti shows living conditions of prisoners

Larsen told LiveScience that the graffiti suggests the prisoners were living in deplorable conditions. "You get a sense that they're in a very dark space, that they cannot be given a hearing," he said.

"Godbearer, repay [punishment given by] Marinos, the one who threw us in here and made us spend winter," an inscription reads. "This probably would have been an incredibly cold place in the winter," Larsen said.

One disturbing graffiti asks god to "make them die an awful death," supposedly alluding to those who imprisoned them.

Other graffiti were pleas for the release of prisoners and even about their lovers. Then there were game boards which prisoners likely used to pass the time.

He also found the remains of "olpai" (jugs) and lamps in an aisle of the prison, which likely provided the prisoners with water and light. Evidence suggesting the existence of a small latrine in a prison chamber was also found.