ROTAS-SATOR square; It ain't Baroque

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

ROTAS SATOR SQUARE

   I just came back from Conimbriga, one of the few places in the world that has a ROTAS-SATOR square.  (Not an American dialect, but a linguistic riddle for two thousand years.)  As can be expected, the explanation given was short and totally wrong.
  It's said that the square has been found in "Siria, Bretanha, Lusitania."  I've been to all three places, but it's also been found near Budapest and, most importantly, in Pompeii.
  The short explanation continues: "Durante muito tempo for erradamente considerado como simbolo cristao."
  No, it's not a Christian symbol!  It's completely absent from the Roman CHristian catacombs, for example.  It became a Christian symbol after the fourth century, when it was turned around as SATOR-ROTAS.
  It's not Mithraic, either, as an old, illogical monograph by Walter Moeller has stated.  It's not on ANY Mithraic monuments!
  I'm confident another ROTAS-SATOR square will soon be discovered in an ancient Roman ship (they're currently searching the Black Sea with that Titanic-type equipment), and I'll have more to say then--in about two years.

--------------------------------------------------------
IT AIN'T BAROQUE

  Everybody's a comedian.

TOURIST:  Is that Baroque?
TOUR GUIDE:  I don't know what style that is, but it's definitely not Baroque.
TOURIST:  Well, if it ain't Baroque, don't fix it.

  Hey!  I did that phrase, pal!!