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EDCS
Epigraphik-Datenbank  Clauss / Slaby

Manfred Clauss / Anne Kolb / Wolfgang A. Slaby / Barbara Woitas

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Datenbank-Recherche deutsch  / search database englisch  / banco de datos spanisch  /
recherches à la banque des données französisch  / ricerca nel database italienisch

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Welcome!

On this site you find a data base that records almost all Latin inscriptions. The texts are based on the decision of the EDCS editors. The texts are presented without abbreviations and completed where possible. The presentation of the texts is kept as simple as possible. Beside the commonly used indications for resolution, completions and erasures as few special characters as possible have been used.

The EDCS also enables the publication of new finds. Further informations on the measurements and explanations of the individual passages of the text can be displayed in a comment field. For the inscription CIL 06, 39824 all specifications of the CIL are registered. The new finds receive a EDCS number with author's name; see EDCS 00514 {Ashmolean Museum, Oxford} or EDCS 00767 {Giuseppe Cencini}. The authors of such new discoveries can be found under their Names in the search field "Publication" (e.g. %Cencini%).

The abbreviations give the references for the publications used.

Is there a after the line of the publication found, you are guided by clicking to another database, frequently with photos.

There are links [392.000] to the following 45 databases.

The following journals are evaluated.

You can contact me at email@manfredclauss.de

Statistics

By now


The statistical data for publications indicate which volumes (with how many texts per volume as far as the Latin inscriptions are concerned) are recorded completely in the data base.

The statistical data for provinces give an overview on the categorized provinces and inscriptions. Provinces set in bold are complete.

Advice for users

All texts are presented without abbreviations and completed. Only very few special characters have been used:
( ) resolution of abbreviated texts, insertion of missing letters
[ ] addition
[ 3 ] blank within a line
[ 6 ] a blank line
] blank of unknown length at the beginning
[ blank of unknown length at the end
⟦ ⟧ erasure
<e=F> correction (example: f<e=F>cit for FFCIT)
«TEXT» Here texts are listed that have been created to fill erased passages - especially in the time of the Severan dynasty.
«⟦ ⟧» This text has been erased and then carved again; often leg. III.
{ } canceled letters
/ division of lines
// separates two different texts of a stone - front and back, several columns, Latin and Greek texts - or marks text parts which are in an unusual position (outside the inscription field, inserted above or below the line)
* The * indicates an inscription that is thought to be forged or modern. With the CIL the * is in front of a number (CIL 06, *03231), by other publications the * stands behind the number (RIB-03, 03534*).
+ + in front of a number of the AE, AEA, ILCV or at other places indicates to bibliographical references, with other publications to comments given under the number indicated.

Text taken from the CIL are listed under the number of their first mentioning, later corrections are added and noted there; this applies also for corrections of inscriptions of the CIL from the AE and other newer publications.

Language

For the Latin-speaking provinces – Britannia, Lusitania, Baetica, Hispania citerior, Gallia Narbonensis, Lugdunensis, Belgica, Germania inferior, Germania superior, Alpes Graiae, Alpes Cottiae, Alpes Maritimae, Alpes Poeninae, Raetia, Italia, Pannonia inferior, Pannonia superior, Dalmatia, Dacia, Moesia inferior, Moesia superior, Mauretania Tingitana, Mauretania Caesariensis, Numidia, Africa proconsularis – Greek inscriptions are also noted. These are marked with the letters "GR". By now, these Greek texts have also been incorporated. Next to the two fields for searching texts there is a button with the first letters of the Greek alphabet. If you click on it, you get a virtual keyboard with the Greek alphabet, with which you can enter Greek for searching texts.

The most common special characters are listed after the alphabet:

Ϛ 6
ϙ 90
ϡ 900
ʹ Numbers from 1-999 (dash top right)
͵ Numbers from 1000 (dash bottom left)

Other special characters:

Ↄ the father's name corresponds to that of the son, Μόσχος Ↄ(Μόσχου).
ϗ καί

If one is looking for inscriptions containing only Greek, one enters gr in the search field "Language:", if one is looking for all inscriptions containing (also or only) Greek texts, one enters %gr%.

Besides la (Latin) and gr (Greek), the following languages are noted: pu (Punic), ib (Iberian), he (Hebrew), et (Etruscan), le (Lepontic), os (Oscian), pa (Palmyrene), sa (Safaitic), ve (Venetian).

Bilingual inscriptions should be searched, using the form la / gr or gr / he , trilingual using the form la / gr / pu.

database enquiry

You can search the data base for records, province, place,date, inscription genus/personal status and texts. All entries have a wildcard character on the right and left side. The number of each record must have five digits: e. g. CIL 02, 00125. The notations used for the provinces are listed in a field on the right side next to the box for the provinces. Under the box "Choice of provinces" you have the possibility to choose several provinces. For the entries of place names and provinces case sensitivity is required; do not use umlaute, accents or special characters. You will find modern and/or ancient place names; under the ancient place name you will often find more texts. The search results can be listed by record or provinces.

Information for the search text:

You can search any terms separated with % - also in combination with a record/province/place - or for two of those. If you are looking for two terms you can chose if both terms should be in the inscription ("and"), just one at a time ("or") or exclusively one (text 1) and the other not (text 2); e. g. all inscriptions with "Dis" without those having "Dis Manibus". All terms you search for have a wildcard character on the right and left side as well. In addition to that you can place your own wildcard character. The sign % replaces any number of signs. You can also use "_" (underscore), that replaces exactly one sign. Two underscores "__" replace exactly two signs (vi__it will find vixsit, vixxit, viscit). You can explicitly search for a phrase at the beginning/the end of the inscriptions. For the beginning place "^ " (that is ^ with a blank) in front of the phrase you are looking for, for the end add " ^" (that is blank and ^) at the end. If you are looking for a very specific word like "et", enter "blank et blank" as the search text.

Search for inscription genus/personal status

After having finished recording almost all Latin inscriptions we started to categorize the texts by the type of inscription and the social role of people mentioned. 55,065 percent of the texts are categorised.

In the box "Type of inscription/Personal status" you can choose categories and combine them with "et" or "vel". When there is no mark at "et" or "vel", "vel" is set by default. "et" means that the marked conditions must meet all in an inscription; "vel" means only one of the marked conditions must meet. In the second searchfield "and not" you can choose categories to be excluded in the query.

The following categories are recorded:

titulorum distributio:

virorum/feminarum distributio:

Search for material

The material is entered according to the following types: aes, argentum, aurum, corium, cyprum, ferrum, gemma, lapis, lignum, musivum, opus figlinae, orichalcum, os, plumbum, rupes, steatitis, sucinus, tectorium, textum, vitrum

Issuing by corpora

In this box you can enter single volumes; their texts will be issued in numeric order. Please note that in this case a wildcard character will only be placed automatically on the right hand side.

search without solutions

In this case the database offers the opportunity to search for abbreviations in all texts. Thus the input b() m() will have the result (among others) b(ene) m(erenti) with the appropriate inscription. Please note that in between the abbreviated words a blank is set. Such terms are exceptional that include more than one abbreviation within a single word, such as b()f(), which results (among others) in b(ene)f(icarius). You can also search for the special character |().

search in original texts

You can also search for wrong spellings: Examples such as eiius, menus, deposicio or Pudes, for Pudens, can be found.

Dating

In epigraphic databases and analogous publications the dating of inscriptions has recently become common practice. Therefore we have decided to adopt such dating from other databases and publications despite our reservations. In view of the fact that in innumerable cases dating is done according to the letter form ("ex forma litterarum" or "palaeographia"), one may recall a bon mot by Lothar Wickert: "The dilettante in the field of Latin epigraphy can be recognized by nothing more certain than the fact that he knows how to date every inscription according to the written form. (Klio-1938-126)

Christian inscriptions without further details are dated 301 to 500.

Sorting by date is possible if the time frame is specified. To do this, a start or end date must be entered in the "Dating" field.

The following schema underlies the specification:

Thanks

Finally I thank all those who have supported this data base and helped creating it.

You can contact me at email@manfredclauss.de