Epigraphy is the name given to the practice of writing on durable material, such as stone or metal (instead of wood, papyrus or parchment). The decision to engrave a text is a cultural choice and not common to every society. The ancient Greeks and especially the Romans engraved texts in large quantities (up to a million survive); others, such as the Phoenicians, produced much less. The most common inscriptions are funerary epitaphs (70%) but many other types of documents were engraved, both public (for example laws, treaties, honorary inscriptions) and private (for example curses).
II cent.
III cent.
IV cent.
366 A.D.
290-325 A.D.
VI-V cent. b.C.
II or I cent. b.C.
III cent. b.C.
End of IV cent. - Start of V cent.
I-II cent. A.D.
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