Latin inscriptions can appear daunting - a jumble of letters without any structure or meaning. However, once you know how, most are easy to read as they follow strict rules of grammar and abbreviation. This book will teach readers how to 'decipher' them and will highlight how even the smallest piece of information that an inscription may provide can help classicists and archaeologists to reconstruct the daily life of ordinary Romans. While surviving literature often only relates to the lives of the elite (who could afford books), inscriptions were texts used by all and meant to be seen by all. Thus, they shed light on the lives of those classes of people less visible in the archaeological record - the poor, slaves and women. Illustrated with the best examples of inscriptions from the British Museum's Roman collection, this book will explore the meaning of putting up public inscriptions and the standardised system of abbreviation that was used to ensure Romans from all areas of the Empire could read them. Written in the simple everyday-life Latin, they also reflect linguistic changes within society, allowing the modern day scholar to uncover the introduction of slang words and new spellings of Latin words. We may also stumble across spelling mistakes, for not everyone knew how to write Latin fluently, and often we find that words had been written phonetically. If the text of the inscriptions can give us one part of the information, often the style of decoration around the inscription, the accompanying images, or the original location can tell us even more. Every aspect of an inscribed monument was carefully chosen by the person commissioning the inscription, and thus carried specific meaning, and so combined with the texts of the inscriptions, it is possible to reconstruct pieces of the lives of everyday Romans that were thought most valuable to be remembered.

A collection of 15 guided walking tours of the ancient Latin descriptions found throughout Rome. Rome’s oldest known Latin inscription dates from the sixth century BC; the most recent major specimen was mounted in 2006—a span of more than two and a half millennia. Remarkably, many of these inscriptions are still to be found in situ, on the walls, gates, temples, obelisks, bridges, fountains, and churches of the city. Classicist Tyler Lansford has collected some 400 of these inscriptions and arranged them—with English translations—into fifteen walking tours that trace the physical and historical contours of the city. Each itinerary is prefaced by an in-depth introduction that provides a survey of the history and topography of the relevant area of the city. The Latin texts appear on the left-hand page with English translations on the right. The original texts are equipped with full linguistic annotation, and the translations are supplemented with historical and cultural notes that explain who mounted them and why. This unique guide will prove a fascinating and illuminating companion for both sophisticated visitors to the Eternal City and armchair travelers seeking a novel perspective into Rome's rich history. “This book is wonderful. . . . Lansford’s evocative depictions of monuments, cityscape, and memorable humans have inspired me anew with the fascination of Rome.” —Mary T. Boatwright, Duke University “If this book is not slipped into many a Rome-bound suitcase, there is no justice in the world. I can think of few more enjoyable companions on a prowl through the city.” —Jane Stevenson, Times Literary Supplement (UK)

From the archaic period onwards, ancient literary authors working within a range of genres discussed and quoted a variety of inscriptions. This volume offers a wide-ranging set of perspectives on the diversity of epigraphic material present in ancient literary texts, and the variety of responses, both ancient and modern, which they can provoke.

For the first six centuries from the institution's foundation, Latin was the language spoken and written at the University of Oxford. It's no surprise, then, to find that the inscriptions carved into the monuments, colleges and municipal buildings of the city are for the most part also in Latin. It is also a language which lends itself to compression, so an inscription in Latin uses fewer characters than English, for example, saving space and money. But what do they all mean?For this book Reginald Adams has assembled, translated and explained a wide selection of Oxford's Latin inscriptions (and a few Greek ones). These can be found in many accessible places in both city and university, dating from the medieval period to the present day. Their purposes range from tributes and memorials to decorations and witty commentaries on the edifice that they adorn. The figures commemorated include Queen Anne, Roger Bacon, Cardinal Wolsey, Cecil Rhodes, T. E. Lawrence and a kind landlady who provided 'enormous breakfasts', as well as other eminent scholars and generous benefactors. These evocative mementos of the past bring insight to the informed observer of their surroundings and also vividly illustrate the history of Oxford.

This is a much-needed textbook for students of epigraphy and an up-to-date reference work for scholars. Central to the work are its photos. Professor Gordon presents 100 Latin inscriptions arranged in chronological order and illustrated by the best available photographs. The inscriptions, which range in date from the sixth century B.C. to A.D. 525, are collated with standard texts and are accompanied by translations and full annotation. They are preceded by an original introduction dealing with important aspects of Latin epigraphy and followed by several appendices on such special topics as Roman numerals. The photographs of these inscriptions reveal the close relationship between Latin inscriptions and our present-day type fonts by way of the humanistic hand of fifteenth-centry European scholars. This book will be of interest not only to students and scholars of epigraphy but to those interested in the history of typography as well.

The study of inscriptions is critical for anyone seeking to understand the Roman world, whether they regard themselves as literary scholars, historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, or religious scholars. The Oxford Handbook of Roman Epigraphy is the fullest collection of scholarship on the study and history of Latin epigraphy produced to date.

Epigraphic Evidence is an accessible guide to the responsible use of Greek and Latin inscriptions as sources for ancient history. It introduces the types of historical information supplied by inscriptional texts and the methods with which they can be used. It outlines the limitations as well as the advantages of the different types of evidence covered. Epigraphic Evidence includes a general introduction, a guide to the arrangement of the standard corpora inscriptions and individual chapters on local languages and native cultures, epitaphs and the ancient economy amongst others.

Alongside these complex synergies, interdisciplinary associations founded on web-based data transfer are on the rise. All of the new visions and achievements discussed in the volume can only be fully realized, however, if the traditional roots of epigraphy are maintained. Rather than being blinded by a sort of "electronic madness," scholars must recall the rich heritage of epigraphic transmission as a source of information that has yet to be exhausted. This volume is not only a plea for an increased use of modern (electronic) technology but also a warning against putting trust solely in such technology. --