‘Latin Epigraphy. An introduction’ (in German) available again

Twenty years ago, the first edition of my ‘Einführung in die lateinische Epigraphik’ was published; it has since gone through two further editions and has served as a basic guide for students and teachers alike when studying Roman inscriptions.

With the bankruptcy of the renowned ‘Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft’ in 2023, the fate of this book also seemed sealed. However, in order to keep the epigraphic compendium available for university teaching, I have decided to publish a reprint of the second edition on my own initiative. I very much hope that all those interested in epigraphy will be able to study this book with the greatest possible benefit. It is now available from Amazon as paperback:

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0FG1SR579

From the reviews of the 1st edition:
“In conclusion, S. has produced a very useful opus, written with the greatest meticulousness and professional knowledge, providing the reader with numerous details of antiquity. This book is strongly recommended to anyone interested in antiquity.”
Forum Classicum
“The many technical references in the text, the high philological and antiquarian standards and the spread of detailed problems make this book a pleasure to read, especially for epigraphers, who will find it a handy reference work … It is to be hoped that Latin epigraphy will find new friends and enthusiasts.”
Ianus
“The presentation of the epigraphic evidence is the great strength of the book, as it is presented in both text and images. The inscriptions are transcribed in the form commonly used for editions … Overall, this work is very welcome as an introduction and can also be used later as a reference work, even if it is not exactly a comprehensive compendium for the epigraphist. However, that was not the aim of the undertaking.”
Tyche

Manfred G. Schmidt
mgs@custos-corporis.com
http://custos-corporis.com

Posted in publications | Leave a comment

Job Posting: Professorship in Greek History and Epigraphy, University of Vienna

Sehr geehrte Kolleginnen und Kollegen,

Wir möchten Sie auf die Ausschreibung zur Professur Griechische Geschichte, Altertumskunde und Epigraphik am Institut für Alte Geschichte der Universität Wien aufmerksam machen:

https://berufungsservice.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/p_berufungsservice/jobs/0625/Prof/HISTKU_98_Griechische_Geschichte__Altertumskunde_und_Epigraphik_DE_20250625.pdf

Die Bewerbungsfrist ist der 17. September 2025. Bitte leiten Sie diese Information an interessierte Kolleginnen und Kollegen weiter!

Mit freundlichen Grüßen,

Franziska Beutler

Dear colleagues,

We would like to bring your attention to the job posting for the Professorship in Greek History and Epigraphy at the Department of Ancient History, University of Vienna:

https://berufungsservice.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/p_berufungsservice/jobs/0625/Prof/HISTKU_98_Griechische_Geschichte__Altertumskunde_und_Epigraphik_EN_20250625.pdf

The deadline for applications is 17 September 2025.

Kindly forward this information to interested colleagues!

Best wishes

Franziska Beutler
Department of Ancient History of the University of Vienna

Posted in jobs | Leave a comment

Inscriptions on Paper (call for topics and papers)

The Archiv für Epigraphik, online-journal for the study of pre-modern inscriptions, is planning a special issue on “Inscriptions on Paper. Printed and Manuscript Collections of Inscriptions in Europe from the 15th to the 20th Century” (see below)

Proposals for topics are requested by 31 August 2025, contributions by 30 April 2026. Interested researchers are invited to contact Dr. Thomas Rastig.

Inscriptions on Paper. Printed and Manuscript Collections of Inscriptions in Europe from the 15th to the 20th Century

INSCRIPTIONS ARE WORTHY OF PRESERVATION.

This seemingly self-evident truth is by no means a product of modern scholarship. Major epigraphic projects such as the „Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum“ and „Die Deutschen Inschriften des Mittelalters und der Frühen Neuzeit“ have systematised and shaped the collection and academic treatment of such texts. However, the origins of this practice can be traced back several centuries earlier. Already in the late Middle Ages, people began to attribute significance to inscribed texts, collect them, and make them available to posterity through often extensive printed editions. Humanist scholars of the 16th century played a key role in this process. Work on the volumes of „Die Deutschen Inschriften“ has shown, that such collections did not originate solely within the circles of humanist scholars. Over the course of the Early Modern period, an increasingly broad range of individuals – including clergy, townspeople, and members of municipal councils – began to move attentively through their cities, churches, and rural areas, copying inscribed texts from tombstones, house façades, and entrance portals. The transmission of these texts is extraordinarily diverse and has yet to be comprehensively represented.

The planned edited volume aims to provide a comprehensive examination of printed and manuscript collections of inscriptions from the 15th/16th century onwards. The objective of the project is to offer an overview of the origins, contexts, and significance of these collections, as well as of the individuals who compiled them. The volume is intended to serve as a starting point for in-depth research into this subject. Publication is planned as a thematic issue of „Archiv für Epigraphik“ (2026 volume), to be published in an online format. This call invites the submission of suitable contributions. The project explicitly adopts a trans-epochal approach: no distinction or separation is to be made between ancient, medieval, and early modern inscriptions.

The following guiding questions are proposed: When did such collections emerge, and in what contexts? Are there regional or chronological variations? Who were the collectors, and what were their biographical backgrounds? What types of texts were recorded (in terms of content and language)? What was the scope of the collections? Was the focus primarily on prestigious objects, or was the transmission documented in a more comprehensive manner? Were independent collections compiled, or were inscriptions integrated into other genres, such as chronicles? How were the texts transcribed – as simple reproductions of content, or with attempts to capture the form and design of the inscriptions and their material supports (e.g. imitation of script styles; drawings or tracings of the inscribed objects)? How credible or reliable were the copyists? Did they examine the objects directly, or were their copies based on other sources? Were the resulting collections intended for publication, or are they archival manuscripts preserved in private or institutional holdings? What is the significance of these copyists for our current understanding of epigraphic transmission in a given region or locality, and in what ways did they shape or influence that transmission?

Proposals for contributions are requested by 31 August 2025, with final submissions of written articles due by 30 April 2026. Contributions may address material from across the European area. Articles may be submitted in either German or English.

Posted in news | Tagged , | Leave a comment

ΑΓΩΝΙΣΜΑ. Arti performative, poesia e musica nei centri culturali dell’Ellenismo

Posted on behalf of Angela Cinalli.

The international colloquium ΑΓΩΝΙΣΜΑ will take place on Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 June 2025 (Rome, La Sapienza, Aula Partenone, Museo dell’Arte classica, Facoltà di Lettere e filosofia).

The title of the conference encapsulates the essence of public performances intended for spontaneous enjoyment and collective participation, offering a broader understanding of the artistic and socio-cultural dynamics of the Hellenistic era. This initiative aims to encourage reflection on literary and artistic performing experiences that developed in centres of Hellenism, considering them in relation to erudite forms of production. A methodologically up-to-date, interdisciplinary approach, integrating rich epigraphic documentation with literary, archaeological, and iconographic sources, makes it possible to outline the evolution of artistic trends and grasp numerous essential aspects of the cultural panorama, such as the occasions and contexts of artistic enjoyment and circulation, production methods, exhibition types, and protagonists.

Full programme here.

You can follow it online via Meet (instructions available at the same link).

Posted in Guest post | Leave a comment

Bologna 2027 – XVII Congressus Internationalis Epigraphiae Graecae et Latinae (I)

The first circular for the 17th International Congress of Greek and Latin Epigraphy, which will take place in Bologna from 30 August to 4 September 2027, is now available. It contains the call for proposals for parallel sessions, with a deadline of 30 September 2025.

One of the aims of the Congress is to capture the progress of our discipline and the most promising developments for the future. To this end, an initial list of topics for parallel sessions has been pre-determined, but at the same time the possibility is open for all participants to make proposals either for additional parallel sessions or for individual papers to be included in a session. The initial list of topics already established by the Scientific Committee for the parallel sessions includes:

  1. Tituli novi Graeci
  2. Tituli novi Latini
  3. Epigraphy and Artificial Intelligence
  4. Communicating epigraphy to non-specialists
  5. Teaching epigraphy
  6. Greek and Latin epigraphy and other epigraphic cultures of the ancient world
  7. Post-classical epigraphy (epigraphies following those of antiquity, not necessarily in classical languages)
  8. Epigraphy and the manuscript tradition.

The first circular in full, along with other preliminary information, can be found on the website of the 17th International Congress of Greek and Latin Epigraphy.

Posted in AIEGL, events, Uncategorised | Leave a comment

Crossreads Petrography Conference Catania

Lo studio archeometrico delle iscrizioni lapidee: approcci interdisciplinari per la Sicilia Antica / Archaeometrical study of stone inscriptions: interdisciplinary approaches for Ancient Sicily

Botanical Garden, Catania, 5-6 June 2025. Full programme at Crossroads website.

 

Posted in events, methodology, projects | Leave a comment

Erasmus+ BIP Intensive ENCODE: Digital Competences in Ancient Writing Cultures (in presence week)

From May 19 to 23, the Department of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Cultural Industries of the University of Parma, will host the final Spring School of the Erasmus+ BIP “Intensive ENCODE: Digital Competences in Ancient Writing Cultures”.

The Spring School, which will bring around 60 students from 10 European universities to Parma, aims to train students and researchers in the rapidly evolving field of Digital Humanities and AI. The goal is to prepare, with the contribution of about 20 Italian and international experts, professionals capable of using and creating new digital resources for the study, conservation, and dissemination of ancient written artifacts in languages and writing systems of the ancient Mediterranean area.

The Blended Intensive Programme and the Spring School that marks its culmination are coordinated by Cristina Carusi (University of Parma) and directed by Cristina Carusi with Alice Bencivenni (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna), Federico Aurora(University of Oslo), and Holger Essler (Julius Maximilian Universität Würzburg).

Online participation in conferences on Monday, Thursday and Friday is open to anyone who is interested. Links are provided below.

Monday May 19, 2025
Dipartimento di Discipline Umanistiche, Sociali e delle Imprese Culturali Via d’Azeglio 85, Aula B

Teams link
9:00am-9:30am Welcome
9:30am-10:00am Massimo Magnani, Cristina Carusi (Università di Parma) Institutional greetings
10:00am-11:00am Monica Berti (Universität Leipzig) Detecting and Extracting Named Entities from Epigraphic and Papyrological Texts

11:00am-11:30am Coffee Break (Aula H)

11:30am-12:30pm Franziska Naether (Universität Leipzig) – Online Digital Egyptology Projects / The Digital Rosetta Stone Project
12:30pm-01:00pm Discussion

01:00pm-03:00pm Lunch break

03:00pm-04:00pm Chiara Zanchi (Università di Pavia) Wordnets and Ancient Languages: Challenges, Insights, and an LLM-Powered Case Study
04:00pm-05:00pm Edward Ross (University of Reading) Ethics and Efficacy: Teaching and Learning Ancient Greek and Latin with Generative AI

05:00pm-05:30pm Break

05:30pm-06:30pm Isabelle Marthot-Santaniello (Universität Basel) – Online Digital Palaeography of Greek Papyri
06:30pm-7:00pm Discussion

Thursday May 22, 2025
Dipartimento di Discipline Umanistiche, Sociali e delle Imprese Culturali Via d’Azeglio 85, Aula B

Teams link
9:30am-10:30am Elina Boeva (Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski) TELAMON, AIAX and their offspring – adapting a tool and workflow for multiple purposes

10:30am-11:00am Coffee Break (Aula F)

11:00am-12:00pm Francesco Mambrini (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore) Linguistic Linked Data and Semantic Web technologies for ancient languages
12:00pm-01:00pm Francesca Dell’Oro (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna) Encoding linguistic information from Greek and Latin inscriptions with a focus on semantics (anthroponomastics and modality)
01:00pm-01:30pm Discussion

Friday May 23, 2025
Dipartimento di Discipline Umanistiche, Sociali e delle Imprese Culturali Via d’Azeglio 85, Aula B

Teams link
9:00am-10:00am Kristiyan Simeonov (Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski) Front-End Data Processing and Visualization for Digital Scholarship
10:00am-11:00am Jérôme Mairat (University of Oxford) – Online EpiDoc-based and AI-aided edition of coins (RPC Project)

11:00am-11:30am Coffee Break (Aula F)

11:30am-12:30pm Pietro Liuzzo (Bibliotheca Hertziana, Max Planck Institute) Metrica – Reuse and Cooperation in Digital Epigraphy

12:30pm-02:30pm Lunch break

02:30pm-03:30pm Daniele Fusi (Universität Stuttgart) Sowing the Dragon’s Teeth: A Modular Solution to Create Complex Resources
03:30pm-4:00pm Discussion

Full programme available here: https://site.unibo.it/encode/it/agenda/erasmus-bip-intensive-encode-digital-competences-in-ancient-writing-cultures-in-presence-week

and here: https://dusic.unipr.it/notizie/19-23-maggio-spring-school-intensive-encode-digital-competences-ancient-writing-cultures

 

 

Posted in e-seminar, EpiDoc, events, methodology, training | Leave a comment

EpiDoc and Digital Epigraphy workshop, TCD & Maynooth (May 26–28, 2025)

EpiDoc and Digital Epigraphy Workshop

Mon, 26 May 2025 10:00 – Wed, 28 May 2025 17:00

Trinity College Dublin (Monday) and Maynooth University (Tuesday & Wednesday)

This three-day, in-person workshop, co-hosted by the EMISoS project at Maynooth University and the Department of Classics at TCD, introduces several digital approaches to the study of epigraphy—reading and publishing historical texts inscribed on stone or other durable materials, and recording the objects on which they are inscribed.

We will discuss and have the opportunity to practice two advanced imaging techniques: photogrammetry and reflectance transformation imaging, both of which use photography to capture 3D and other surface information of heritage objects. We will also apply the encoding scheme EpiDoc (an implementation of TEI XML) to record the text and object description and history of inscriptions in Old Irish, Latin, Greek, Egyptian and other ancient languages.

The workshop is taught by Gabriel Bodard (London), Megan Kasten (Glasgow), Christine Morris (Trinity), Patricia O’Connor (Maynooth) and Nora White (Maynooth), and includes keynote lectures by Charlotte Roueché (King’s College London) and Pádraic Moran (University of Galway).

Free but booking required: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/epidoc-and-digital-epigraphy-workshop-tickets-1295614220009

Full programme available at: https://ahi.maynoothuniversity.ie/mind-material-middle-ages/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Programme.pdf

(Both keynotes open to all: no booking required.)

Posted in EpiDoc, events, training | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Collaborative Doctoral Partnership studentship – Decoding the Vindolanda tablets (Nottingham/British Museum)

AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP) studentship – Decoding the Vindolanda tablets: Generative AI to reassemble, read and restore Roman handwritten texts with The British museum and University of Nottingham

Application Deadline: 2nd June 2025, 17.00

Interviews will take place online on 26th June 2025.

The British Museum and the University of Nottingham are pleased to announce the availability of a fully funded Collaborative doctoral studentship from October 2025 under the AHRC’s  Collaborative Doctoral Partnerships (CDP) scheme.

The project will test generative AI on a series of tasks aimed at recovering more of the texts of the Vindolanda tablets, including handwritten text recognition, reassembly of fragments, disentangling of palimpsest texts and restoration of missing sections.

This project will be jointly supervised by Professor Alex Mullen (University of Nottingham), Dr Richard Hobbs (British Museum) and Dr Kai Xu (University of Nottingham), and the student will be expected to spend time at both the University of Nottingham and the British Museum, as well as becoming part of the wider cohort of CDP funded students across the UK.

Full details, and to apply: https://jobs.nottingham.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?ref=ARTS124

Posted in jobs, training | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Books on Epigraphy and History of Ancient South Arabia

Recent publications by Mounir Arbach and Irene Rossi in the Arabia Antica series provide new contributions to the study of Ancient South Arabian history and epigraphy:

 

The City-States of the Jawf at the Dawn of Ancient South Arabian History (8th–6th centuries BCE)

M. Arbach & I. Rossi. 3 vols., 2022, pp. 242 + 500 + 144, Arabia Antica 17, Rome: «L’Erma» di Bretschneider

Volume I presents a historical synthesis; Volume II gathers the corpus of inscriptions, providing a philological edition; Volume III provides an index of lexical and onomastic items from the texts.

 

An Onomastic Index of the Minaic Inscriptions (6th–1st centuries BCE)

M. Arbach & I. Rossi, 2024, 218 pp., Arabia Antica 18, Rome: «L’Erma» di Bretschneider

An updated and systematic index of names attested in the corpus of Minaic inscriptions, offering a key resource for researchers working on Ancient South Arabian – and more broadly Semitic – onomastics and epigraphy.

Posted in Uncategorised | Leave a comment

Text, Medium, and Layout

Friday, 11 April 2025, 4 p.m. CET (and online), SALA STEMMI, Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo della Carovana, Piazza dei Cavalieri, 7 PISA

Launch of the volume:

D. Amendola,, C.Carusi, F. Maltomini, E. Rosamilia, TEXT, LAYOUT, AND MEDIUM: Documents from the Greco-Roman World between Epigraphy and Papyrology, Firenze 2024

Introduction by:

Stefania De Vido – Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia e Istituto Italiano per la Storia Antica

Anna Magnetto – Scuola Normale Superiore

Fabrizio Oppedisano – Scuola Normale Superiore

Remarks by:

Lucia Criscuolo – Alma Mater Università di Bologna

Michele Faraguna – Università di Milano Statale

The editors will be present:

Davide Amendola – Scuola Superiore Meridionale

Cristina Carusi – Università degli Studi di Parma

Francesca Maltomini – Università degli Studi di Firenze

Emilio Rosamilia – Università degli Studi di Perugia

More information at: https://www.sns.it/it/evento/text-layout-and-medium

Posted in events, news, publications, review | Leave a comment

First issue of Athīrat: Journal of Ancient Arabia

The inaugural issue of Athīrat: Journal of Ancient Arabia has just been published, under the title “Cultural and Epigraphic Studies on Pre-Islamic Arabia”.

Athīrat is a newly launched, double-blind peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the study of Ancient Arabia. It is published by the Hassan bin Mohammed Center for Historical Studies (HBMHC) in collaboration with Brill, and welcomes contributions in fields such as epigraphy, archaeology, linguistics, and history across the Arabian Peninsula.

For full contents, see here.

Posted in publications | Leave a comment