Dictionary:

epigraphy

  (ĭ-pĭg'rə-fē)

1. Inscriptions considered as a group.
2. 1. The study of inscriptions.
   2. Decipherment, especially of ancient inscriptions.

epigraphy, study of inscriptions in respect of both their form and their content, an inscription being taken to mean any writing cut, scratched, or impressed on any durable material such as stone or metal, either in official form or casually by an individual (in the latter case known as a graffito). Coins are excluded, their inscriptions being within the province of the numismatist, and it is usual to exclude painted inscriptions and texts written in ink, on whatever material.

1. Greek. The earliest surviving Greek inscriptions are dated to the middle of the eighth century BC and consist merely of names or brief personal comments scratched on pots. By the early seventh century inscriptions are of a more formal nature—dedications to gods or names of the dead on gravestones. Like the Phoenicians the Greeks originally wrote from right to left (retrograde); if a second line of writing was required to complete the inscription, it was often written underneath the first line but proceeding in the opposite direction, creating a hairpin-like pattern. This pattern of writing was known as boustrophēdon, ‘as the ox turns’, and was helpful for the inexperienced reader whose eye could then continue to read without interruption at the end of a line. It sometimes seems from the inscriptions of the seventh and sixth centuries that the lines of writing need not even be horizontal: the words could apparently be as easily read when written vertically. It was not until the Greeks set up formal inscriptions, as opposed to using words merely to identify, say, figures on a vase, that they adopted a consistent left-to-right direction. In the sixth century the Greeks, and notably the Athenians, adopted a style of inscription which suited their feeling for symmetry and uniformity, in which the letters were exactly aligned both horizontally and vertically (the stoichēdon, ‘in a line’, style). This persisted until the end of the fourth century BC, but had disappeared almost entirely by the end of the third.

Greek inscriptions survive in their tens of thousands, including hundreds of poems of various kinds which would otherwise be unknown to us. They immeasurably enrich our knowledge of Greek history, thought, and speech by being first-hand, contemporary records, in the authentic language of the time, of every aspect of Greek life. Among the more important Greek historical inscriptions are the Athenian tribute lists, the law-code of Gortyn in Crete, and the chronological table known as the Parian Marble (see MARMOR PARIUM).

2. Latin. Latin inscriptions earlier than the third century BC are rare, and unfortunately so, since those we have provide valuable evidence of linguistic usage at a period earlier than that of most surviving Latin literature. Most Latin inscriptions date from the early empire, but they continue beyond the collapse of Rome in the fifth century AD. Inscriptions from the provinces of the empire are of particular historical value. The Latin script was originally very like that of the early Greek alphabet used by the Greek settlers at Cumae (on the coast near Naples, founded c.750 BC), from which the Latin alphabet was ultimately derived. By the first century AD the cutters had developed the beautiful Roman capital lettering, seen at its best on the base of Trajan's Column. Latin inscriptions, like Greek, are an invaluable source of information on politics and law, social, religious, and military administration, and other aspects of Roman life which without them would remain obscure to us. Christian inscriptions throw light on the development of Christian society and religious thought. Important Latin historical inscriptions include the so-called Monumentum Ancyranum, the emperor Augustus' official autobiography, written in both Latin and Greek.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: the study of ancient inscriptions

The Rosetta Stone in the British Museum.

Epigraphy (Greek, ἐπιγραφή — "written upon") is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs engraved into stone or other durable materials, or cast in metal, the science of classifying them as to cultural context and date, elucidating them and assessing what conclusions can be deduced from them. A person studying this is called an epigrapher or epigraphist.

Scope

Epigraphy is a primary tool of archaeology when dealing with literate cultures. The US Library of Congress classifies epigraphy as one of the "Auxiliary Sciences of History". Epigraphy also helps identify a forgery: epigraphic evidence formed part of the discussion concerning the James Ossuary. Since epigraphy is a science of the particular, references to epigraphic evidence appear in most Wikipedia entries discussing aspects of Ancient history.

The study of ancient handwriting, usually in ink, is a separate field, Paleography.

The character of the writing, the subject of epigraphy, is a matter quite separate from the nature of the text, which is studied in itself. Texts inscribed in stone are usually for public view (or for the view of the god, as in the Persian Behistun inscription), and so they are essentially different from the written texts of each culture. Not all inscribed texts are public, however: in Mycenean culture the deciphered texts of "Linear B" were revealed to be largely used for economic and administrative record keeping. Informal inscribed texts are "graffiti" in its original sense.

History

The science of epigraphy has been developing steadily since the 16th century. Principles of epigraphy vary culture by culture, and the infant science in European hands concentrated on Latin inscriptions at first. Individual contributions have been made by epigraphers such as Georg Fabricius (1516–1571); August Wilhelm Zumpt (1815–1877); Theodor Mommsen (1817–1903); Emil Hübner (1834–1901); Franz Cumont (1868–1947); Louis Robert (1904–1985).

The Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, begun by Mommsen and other scholars, has been published in Berlin since 1863, with wartime interruptions. It is the largest and most extensive collection of Latin inscriptions. New fascicles are still produced as the recovery of inscriptions continues. The Corpus is arranged geographically: all inscriptions from Rome are contained in volume 6. This volume has the greatest number of inscriptions; volume 6, part 8, fascicle 3 was just recently published (2000). Specialists depend on such on-going series of volumes in which newly-discovered inscriptions are published, often in Latin, not unlike the biologists' Zoological Record— the raw material of history.

Greek epigraphy has unfolded in the hands of a different team, with different corpora. There are two. The first is Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum of which four volumes came out, again at Berlin, 1825-1877. This marked a first attempt at a comprehensive publication of Greek inscriptions copied from all over the Greek-speaking world. Only advanced students still consult it, for better editions of the texts have superseded it. The second, modern corpus is Inscriptiones Graecae arranged geographically under categories: decrees, catalogues, honorary titles, funeral inscriptions, various., all presented in Latin, to preserve the international neutrality of the field of classics.

Other such series include the Corpus Inscriptionum Etruscarum (Etruscan inscriptions), Corpus Inscriptionum Crucesignatorum Terrae Sanctae (Crusaders' inscriptions), Corpus Inscriptionum Insularum Celticarum, (Celtic inscriptions), Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum (Iranian inscriptions) and so forth.

Notable inscriptions

• Rosetta Stone
• Behistun Inscription
• Decree of Themistocles
• Dipylon inscription
• Edicts of Ashoka
• Laguna Copperplate Inscription
• Inscription of Abercius
• Malia altar stone
• Phaistos Disc
• Pre-Islamic Arabic inscriptions
• Orkhon inscriptions
• Duenos Inscription
• Bryggen inscriptions
• Bitola inscription
• INRI
• Shugborough House inscription
• Thebes tablets

Types of inscription

• Abecedarium
• Chronogram
• Indian inscriptions
• Copper plate inscriptions
• Epitaph on a headstone
• Ex libris
• Memento mori
• Monumental inscription
• Rune stone
• Hero stone
• Stoichedon

See also

• Leiden Conventions
• Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum
• Inscriptiones Graecae and Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum
• Bulletin Epigraphique
• L'Année Epigraphique

• EpiDoc, epigraphic markup in XML
• Writing systems, a general review and survey
• Petroglyph
• Ogham

Other studies of the writing of texts include:

• Palaeography, the study of handwriting, often a basis for dating a document or even an inscription, (further links available in Palaeography article);
• Papyrology, the study of manuscripts written on papyrus;
• Numismatics, the study of coins;
• Graffiti, informal scratched texts, more individual than official;
• Orthography, the set, the rules and structure of a writing system;
• Typography, selection and arrangement of type;

External links

• L'Association Internationale d'Épigraphie Grecque et Latine
• American Society for Greek and Latin Epigraphy
• Current Epigraphy (blog)
• Epigraphische Datenbank Heidelberg
• Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents, Oxford University
• Electronic Archives of Greek and Latin Epigraphy
• Searchable Greek Inscriptions
• Ubi Erat Lupa: Many epigraphic resources and searchable catalogues
• Onno van Nijf, "Introduction to Greek and Latin epigraphy: an absolute beginners' guide"
• Jean-Marie Lassère, Manuel d’épigraphie romaine. Paris: Picard, Antiquité-synthèses, 2007, 2 volumes, 1167 pages (second edition, first edition in 2005).
• Religious Epithet in Orissan Inscription - India

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