The Lapis Satricanus, or, "stone of Satricum", was a yellow stone found in the ruins of the ancient Satricum, near Borgo Montello, a village of southern Lazio, dated late 6th century to early 5th century BC. It reads:
Lapis lazuli is one of the stones with the longest tradition of being considered a gem, with a history stretching back 7,000 years.
This source of lapis may be the oldest continually worked set of mines in the world, the same mines operating today having supplied the lapis of the pharaohs.
The main component of lapis lazuli is lazurite (25 to 40 percent), a feldspathoid silicate mineral composed of sodium, aluminium, silicon, oxygen, sulfur, and chlorine.
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