Project

Content - Inscriptions

The Epigraphic Text Database alongside the Photographic Database, the Geographic Database and the Bibliographic Database is most complex constituent part of EDH.

• With the help of the simple as well as the complex search the user can access all of the 82.000 inscription texts and metadata on them as they are archived in EDH.
• The inscriptions are presented as majuscule text and minuscule text wth resolutions and supplements.
• Whenever there is corresponding material, the search results display links to image material from the Photographic Database or photos in external image archives. This makes a direct comparison between the epigraphic remains and the reading so much easier.
• All Latin and bilingual (Latin-Greek) inscriptions of the provinces of the Roman Empire will be entered systematically.
  • Excluded from systematic entry are Military diplomas, serially stamped inscriptions (tile stamps) as well as very fragmentary remains of inscriptions.
  • On the basis of a Kooperationsvereinbarung with the Portal Electronic Archive of Greek and Latin Epigraphy (EAGLE) in the year 2003 the systematic processing of the Inscriptions of Italy are the domain of the Epigraphic Database Rome (EDR), those of the Hispanic provinces the domain of Hispania Epigraphica Online (HEpOnl). The inscriptions of the above mentioned Italic regions and Hispanic provinces, which had already been entered into EDH were not longer brought up to date and supplemented. The records however remained a part of EDH and and will gradually be linked with the more up to date versions in EDR or HEpOnl.

A guiding principle from the very beginning was not to accept readings from the publications without checking them. As much as possible these readings were verified at least on the basis of drawings, sqeezes or photographs or ideally through autopsy.

The evidence used for verifying the readings are indicated in the „work status" field; provisionally finished inscriptions (e.g. from regions, which are not the focus of systematic entry into EDH) are thus also easy to recognise as such for the user.

During the diverse phases of development in the project the work upon and entry of the inscriptions followed different emphases. To begin with it focused very heavily upon bibliographical criteria (according to L'Année Épigraphique ). Since the year 2005 geographical principals (according to Roman provinces) provided the focal point.

Fully entered in this fashion were the Inscriptions of the following Provinces, whereby publications cited in L'Année Épigraphique were just as much as basis as were the local corpora and the regional journals:

• Achaia (2011)
• Alpes Graiae/Poeninae/Cottiae/Maritimae (2012/13)
• Britannia (2020)
• Dacia (2008)
• Dalmatia (2012)
• Epirus (2012)
• Germania Inferior (2020)
• Germania Superior (2020)
• Macedonia (2012)
• Moesia Inferior (2009)
• Moesia Superior (2008)
• Noricum (2014),
• Pannonia Inferior (2017)
• Pannonia Superior (2017)
• Raetia (2018)
• Thracia (2009)

In addition to these the Inscriptions of the following Corpora and Inscription series, which cover regions outwith the above mentioned provinces, are fully entered:

CIL II² 5, CIL II² 7, CIL II² 14,1, CIL VI 8,2, CIL VI 8,3, CIL XVII 4