The Sator Square was discovered in 1935 in the ruins of a Pompeii house, which was buried under volcanic ash and pumice when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. The inscription is believed to have been written on the wall of a courtyard, possibly by a slave or a merchant.
: The oldest known versions were found etched into columns in the Great Gymnasium and the House of Paquius Proculus in Pompeii. Because the city was buried by Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, these finds prove the square was a known Roman symbol long before Christianity was legalized. sator square meaning
The Sator Square reads: