Definition: Lacuna is simply the name for a missing section of an ancient manuscript.
More than one lacuna may be called lacunae or lacunas. Lacunae are not partial to any particular type of manuscript, and so can be found on such diverse material as papyrus and baked clay cuneiform tablets.
Examples:
The twelve tablets of the Epic of Gilgamesh from the library of Ashurbanipal were damaged, so the lacunae must be filled in using alternate versions. Papyrus documents from the rubbish heaps of Oxyrhynchus can be described as lacunose because they have many (literal) holes in them.
