Lesson 2.

Epigraphy

Learning tasks: by completing this unit of study, the student will be able to: ¾ Define Epigraphy and to highlight the key moments in its evolution as science. ¾ Retain some elementary notions of Epigraphy: writing materials, writing techniques and writing tools; the evolution of the epigraphic writing; the branches of Epigraphy; the dating and the editing of the inscriptions. ¾ Reveal the importance of Epigraphy.

I. Definition; The evolution of Epigraphy as science

Epigraphy (from Greek ἐπιγραφή, epi­graphē = inscription) is the Auxiliary Science of History that deals with the interpretation and deciphering of the inscriptions in hard materials such as stone, metal (plumb, bronze, silver, gold), pearl, ivory, ceramic, wood, bricks, skin, glass, etc. Willhelm Larfeld has defined Epigraphy as "science of the literary monuments". Epigraphy not studying coins, medals and seals. With their study deals other Auxiliary Sciences of History (Numismatics, Phaleristics and Sigillography). The History of Epigraphy is very old. Herodotus of Halicarnassus (c.484–c.420 BC) used the temple inscriptions as historical sources for the realization of his work. After Herodotus, the attention given to Epigraphy was accentuated by the concerns of the Latin and Byzantines historians. In the Middle Ages, concerns in the field of Epigraphy were continued. In the 16th century, Conrad Peutinger (1465‐1547) and Martin Smet was preoccupied by inscriptions. Although they do not have exceeded the recognition phase, they are regarded as the parents of Epigraphy. Significant contributions to the advancement of Epigraphy was brought by Scipione Maffei (1675‐1755). In book 3 of the Ars critique lapidaria, he tried to extract some elements, realizing the first critical of the inscriptions published until him. As science, Epigraphy was formed only in the early 19th century, when are realized the major collections of ancient inscriptions (Greek and Latin). The founder of this science is August Boeckh (1785‐1867), who established the principles and emphasized the importance of Epigraphy. In 1827, he published a circular Corporis Inscriptionum graecarum, Notitia sumptibus Academiae Borussica edendi, in which defines the characters of Epigraphy. A year later, August Boeckh has developed its concerns in the first volume of Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum (CIG); the following volumes appeared in 1843, 1853 and 1856, and the index in 1877. His work includes a total of 9926 inscriptions. In 1863, under the aegis of the Academy of Berlin (as CIG), began publication of a very valuable epigraphic instrument, called Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum Daniel Flaut, Introduction to the Auxiliary Sciences of History

(CIL). To achieve it, a great contribution brought Theodor Mommsen (1817‐ 1903), in fact the initiator of this great work of Epigraphy. These two large corpora of inscriptions (CIG and CIL) have provided information material for the theoretical debate. Completion of science takes place much later by the famous work of Salomon Reinach (Traité d’épigraphie grecques, Paris, 1885), Wilhelm Larfeld (Handbuch der griechischen Epigraphik, 2 vol., München, 1902‐1907; Griechischen Epigraphic, München, 1914) and Rene Cagnat (Cours d’épigraphie latine, ed. 4, Paris, 1914). Thus, was established the general methodological principles. In the interwar period and after 1945, the researches of Epigraphy was widened considerably both by the publication of new inscriptions provided by the archaeological discoveries as well by the elaborating studies of Epigraphy theory. Over the years, the specialists participated at the international congresses of Epigraphy, which were held in Paris, Vienna, München, Cambridge, etc. and where they discussed various issues of the theory and the methodology of Epigraphy. A prestigious international publication, which mediates the discussion of many issues raised by the epigraphic studies today, is appearing in Paris (L' Année épigraphique).

II. Elementary notions of Epigraphy

a) Writing materials, writing techniques and writing tools The material of the inscriptions is very varied. The oldest inscriptions were carved in wood, usually waxed wood, for a greater durability ‐ this was, for example, Solon's laws ‐ then in stone and, most common, in marble. Also, was carved, both in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, in brick, ceramic, masonry, etc. The written material was processed by special techniques, depending on its destination, in several phases. In the first phase, the monument was worked by various techniques: carving, modeling, casting, etc., being realized the shapes and marked the surfaces of the inscription that follow to be made. Previously, the text was written, sized and distributed according to the size of the monument project. After the lines were drawn and the letters were designed, the inscription was made, by various techniques, depending on the material used: carved or embossed (for stone), painting, sculpting (for wood), etc. As writing tools were used: chisel, paintbrush, knife, etc.

b) Epigraphic writing and its evolution At first, Greeks and Romans have written the text of the inscription from the right to the left. Thereafter, it was written alternately, a line from the right to the left and the next line from the left to the right (boustrophedon). This system was used in many inscriptions (Northern writing, Italic writing, etc). There were several modalities to place the letters in writing. Studying old grammars, we find the existence of three models. The oldest of them is columnar. In this system, the letters of a word was placed one under another. For columns to be not too long and so hard to read, the inscription field was divided into limited areas with a free space. The second system was the brick­shaped. In this system, the lines of the text were placed in the shape of parallelepiped. The third system was the basket­shaped. In this system, the lines of the text are successively shortened. There are also inscriptions square, triangular, pyramid­shaped. Whatever the utilized system, there is the rule that each letter of the next line must to be placed

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under another letter of the previous line. This recommendation was rarely respected because not all letters have the same surface area. Although for the most part it is scriptura lapidaria, reading of inscriptions is not easy due to technical difficulties. Ligaturing are extremely varied. Words are not always written in full. Sometimes is used sigla (initial letter), is write only the initial letter of the word (for example: IOM = iovi optimo maximo). Sometimes, is used the abbreviation. It is achieved by writing of two or more letters at the beginning of the word (for example: PR = praetor, LG = legio, PVB = publicus). But there are exceptions, many abbreviations are used for the same word (for example: V, VIX or VT = vixit) or is used the contraction (for example: MCP = municipiu). The historian must to know the relevant rules and the exceptions for every Epigraphy. To facilitate the correct reading of the inscriptions, in Epigraphy are used and accents. In Latin Epigraphy has been used acute accent put on long vowels. From third century, acute accent was used only exceptionally. It has also been used circumflex accent. This accent is put on a letter to show that it is doubled

(for example: O S A = OSSA) and later will show a greater abbreviation (for example: PR = pater; NR = noster). In Greek Epigraphy have been used several types of accents: acute, grave and circumflex. In Epigraphy were also used ellipses. Sometimes there is a tendency to separate the words by signs of various shapes: round, square, triangular, oblong, leaves, etc. Then, the stonecutters lost the meaning of these signs, they believed were ornaments. Therefore, the stonecutters have placed the signs everywhere: between words, between syllables and even between letters.

c) The branches of Epigraphy Epigraphy includes three main branches, in according to the alphabets and the historical eras in which they were made different epigraphic texts: Greek Epigraphy (inscriptions with the Greek alphabet and in Greek language, in Antiquity); Latin Epigraphy (inscriptions with the Latin alphabet and in Latin language, found in the whole Roman world) and Medieval Epigraphy. Medieval Epigraphy use different alphabets (Greek, Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Arabic, Turkish, etc.) and languages. The Medieval inscriptions belong both Medieval Epigraphy and as well respective writings: Medieval Latin, Neo Greek, Old Slavic, Slavic‐Romanian, Romanian‐Cyrillic, etc., which were not separated completely. There are two main direction of analysis of the Ancient and the Medieval inscriptions, which is made by each of the branches of Epigraphy: the form and the content. The analysis of the form of the epigraphic monument refers to: dimensions, the material it is made, techniques and tools used to achieve the epigraphic monument, deciphering the text, deciphering of possible representations from the epigraphic monument. All these details is required to realize a complete study on that epigraphic monument. In the next phase ‐ not separated from the first phase ‐ are studied the content elements of the epigraphic monument. These elements include: the interpretation of figurative scenes which it contains by the epigraphic monument, completion and interpretation of the epigraphic text, translation and comment of the epigraphic text, framing of the historical information provided by the respective epigraphic monument in the information existing at the time.

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The inscriptions have been ranked in several categories, depending on their nature: public documents (laws, decrees, documents issued by emperors, kings, magistrates, military diplomas, etc.) and private documents; then honorific inscriptions, dedicated to the deities, funerary, inscriptions carved on edifices, etc.

d) The dating of the inscriptions Sometimes the date is missing from some inscriptions. Determining of the date is a very complicated problem, because in Epigraphy the writing is not a criteria. Were revealed instances where the same stonecutter has carved inscriptions in every possible way and in a variety of techniques. In determining of the date of the inscription, come to help us: how the inscription was made, the material it is made, the price of the inscription and the technique more or less advanced. Most simple criteria for dating the inscriptions is the indicated persons, their positions and their titles held and, in general, the language and the institutions.

e) The editing of the inscriptions The results reached by studying the epigraphic monument are published in different specialized journals or in other publications. Were established certain rules to be followed when is publish the epigraphic monuments. Thus, in the note of the beginning of the text (Lemma) is performs the following: is stated if the inscriptions are in situ or isolated; if the inscriptions are whole or fragmentary; the epigraphic monuments are described of the point of view of form, the nature of stone, the height, the width and the weight; are gives some details: bas‐relief, cracks, diggings, holes, etc., as the height, the width and the depth of the letters. Then it is use some critical signs: ...] shows that there is no beginning; [... shows that there is no the end; [...] the lack is in the middle; the same sign is placed and when a letter is incomplete or there is a spelling freak. ( ) for misreading and completion of the abbreviations. If the meaning of the inscription is hard to surprised or is too dialectal, to make more accessible to researches it is desirable that text to be accompanied by a summary.

III. The importance of Epigraphy The task of Epigraphy is to edit critical the inscriptions. In this respect, Epigraphy analyzes the inscriptions, processing at a certain level the historical information contained by these. The research of the epigraphist is difficult, because it requiring complex knowledge about the historical period which belongs the respective inscription: of the History of writing, the socio‐economic life, the politico‐institutional life, the cultural life and the History of Art. Also, the epigraph should have extensive knowledge of language. Then, the History take, on a high level of generalization, the conclusions offered by the epigraphic science. Epigraphy has thus become an important Auxiliary Science of History, which provides to History the information contained in the epigraphic monuments. The contribution of Epigraphy to the enrichment of the information basis of the History is remarkable.

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Homework Elaborate an essay with the title: The sculptures and inscription of Darius the Great on the Rock of Behistûn

References: ¾ Cameron, George G., Darius Carved History on Ageless Rock, in “National Geographic Magazine”, vol. XCVIII, no. 6, December 1950, p. 825–844. ¾ Campbell, Thompson R., "The Rock of Behistun". Wonders of the Past, edited by Sir J. A. Hammerton., vol. II, Wise and Co., New York, 1937, p. 760–767. ¾ Gonzalo, Rubio, Writing in another tongue: Alloglottography in the Ancient Near East, in Margins of Writing, Origins of Cultures, ed. Seth Sanders. 2nd printing with postscripts and corrections, Oriental Institute Seminars, 2., University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2007, p. 33–70. ¾ Lesley, Adkins, Empires of the Plain: Henry Rawlinson and the Lost Languages of Babylon, St. Martin's Press, New York, 2003. ¾ Ross, Denison E., The Broadway Travellers: Sir Anthony Sherley and his Persian Adventure, Routledge, 2004.

Dear students, please send me your essay at e‐mail address: [email protected]

Bibliography

¾ Cagnat, R., Cours d’épigraphie latine, ed. IV, Paris, 1914. ¾ Delort, Robert, Introduction aux sciences auxiliaires de l’histoire, Editions Armand Colin, Paris, 1969. ¾ Droste, Kathleen, Auxiliary Sciences of History, Thomson/Gale, 2004, 184 p. ¾ Gordon, Arthur Ernest, Illustrated Introduction to Latin Epigraphy, University of California Press, California, 1983. ¾ Oikonomidēs, Al. N., Abbreviations in Greek inscriptions, Ares Publishers, 1974. ¾ Reifler Bricker, Victoria, Andrews, Patricia A., Epigraphy, University of Texas Press, Austin, 1992. ¾ Reinach, Salomon, Traité d’épigraphie grecques, Paris, 1885. ¾ Savage, Helen, Auxiliary Sciences of History, Gale, 1985.

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