Epigraphy

Ancient Inscriptions
Inscriptions are generally a more permanent form of ancient writing than writing on tablets or papyrus.

What Do the Abbreviations on Coins and Inscriptions Say?
In 'Latin Epigraphy,' Sir John Edwin Sandys explains some of the conventions used to form abbreviations for use in Latin inscriptions. Learn some of the Latin inscription abbreviations for your own purposes.

Laudatio Turiae
Laudatio Turiae is a late first century B.C., epitaph written by a man for his beloved wife.

Recension
Glossary entry on recension.

Tabula Veliterna
The Tabula Veliterna is an ancient bronze tablet written in the language of the Volscians.

Ancient Writing - Epigraphy and Papyrology
Ancient scribes wrote on a durable Egyptian reed called papyrus, from which we get the word 'paper'. The study of ancient writing on papyrus is known as papyrology.

An Introduction to Wall Inscriptions From Pompeii and Herculaneum
An Introduction to Wall Inscriptions From Pompeii and Herculaneum, by Rex Wallace, provides a guide for those seeking to decipher Pompeiian graffiti.

Pentateuch
The Pentateuch is the first five books of Holy Scripture.

Parchment
Parchment is an animal skin used as a surface on which to write.

Paleographic
Paleographic relates to the study of ancient writing (paleo --> old, graph --> writing).

Ancient Writing
Introduction to and resources on epigraphy and papyrology.

Achaemenid Royal Inscriptions
Inscriptions in Old Persian, Elamite, Akkadian, Aramaic, and Egyptian.

Building an Image Bank of Inscriptions
From Center for the Study of Ancient Documents, a list of Greek inscription images. Grouped by geographic location with catalogue entry.

Deir el-Medina Database
Site provides an index to artifacts and texts written on ostraca and papyri from this Egyptian village.

Imaging Inscriptions
An offshoot of the APIS papyrus project is this collaboration between Michigan and Duke. Inscriptions have their own problems for reproduction since they tend to be considerably larger and more unwieldy than papyrus. Sample inscription images are divided geographically.

Abbreviations in Latin Inscriptions
Two lists of abbreviations that appeared on inscriptions printed in L'Année Épigraphique from 1888-1993. The first list contains abbreviations that appear at least ten times; the second, all the abbreviations.

Scribes and Scholars
List of Oxyrrhynchus literary papyri with comments on the scribes' work, and pictures of the fragments, from the Oxyrrhynchus: A City and Its Texts site.

Thesaurus Indogermanischer Text
Two hundred forty-one Ogham inscriptions with photos of the complete stones as well as close ups and transliteration of the text.