‘With a Turned Thumb’. Jean-Leon Gerome. (1872)

Further evidence that our civilisation, The West, is going down the tubes, comes with this news out of Rome where some pig-ignorant British tourist carved his name into the wall of Rome’s Colosseum.

Moreover he did so in front of numerous tourist cameras because vandalising ancient objects is just that much fun and something to be proud of. (Pictures at link). As that article notes he’s now done a groveling apology that’s not really an apology:

In the note published in the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero Wednesday, Dimitrov, who faces a steep fine and possible jail time, claimed that he did not know how old the Colosseum — one of the world’s most recognized monuments — was until it was too late.

“It is with deep embarrassment that only after what regrettably happened did I learn of the antiquity of the monument,” Dimitrov confessed.

What? He’s either beyond ignorant or lying.

Now to be fair, a number of things should be acknowledged about the historic context here.

First, writing graffiti via carving into stone walls is very much in the tradition of the Romans themselves: refer Pompeii.

Second, various Popes and Senators themselves looted of much of its finely-dressed travertine, as well as the bricks.

Third, when Rome fell to the Allies in 1944, American soldiers carved their names and initials into the same structure (and others too), although that too is in line with Rome’s history of being conquered by foreigners.

Fourth is this mundane fact, from that article (but only after they’ve done the whole “in a wall of the nearly 2,000-year-old monument ” shriek)

“The brick that was defaced was actually part of a wall built during a mid-19th century restoration of the monument…”

Okay, but he’s still a vandal who is not Roman and not a conquering invader but just a tourist. What he should have done was write Romans Go Home in red paint – and I’ll leave it to John Cleese to take revenge on whatever brutish 1950’s English schoolmaster taught him Latin by explaining Romani ite domum Romani ite domum. Just a pity this didn’t happen in real life:

Centurion: … Dom..Um [daubes paint]. Understand?

Bryan: Yes, sir

Centurion: Now write it out a hundred times.

Bryan: Yes, sir. Thank you sir, Hail Caesar, sir.

Centurion: Hail Caesar, and if it’s not done by sunrise, I’ll cut your balls off.

Fun history facts from my visit there a few years ago. The Colosseum was actually a monumental statue of Nero that stood nearby the structure but it’s long gone. The structure that remains is often called the Flavian Amphitheater or Amphitheatrum Flavium according to our expert guide, but that’s an anachronism as well apparently. So far, no contemporary source like a letter or personal diary has ever been uncovered that calls the place by any official name. A Roman author, Suetonius, does mention going to the games on a certain day, and from the details he supplied it probably was the Colosseum – but again, no name given. There are also references to an Amphitheatrum Caesareum in Rome but no resolution on that either.