Project Monument Options

• Sarcophagus fragment for Raconia Pia (CIL VI.25358): inscription
• Tablet for Acilia Lamyra (CIL III.6077): inscription
• Cinerary urn for Bovia Procula: cinerarium
• Altar for Primigenia: monument: front, side 1, side 2; inscription
• Tablet for Parthenopeis (CIL XII.2366): inscription
• Altar for Julius Martianus and his wife (CIL XIII.1920): monument, inscription (end)
• Monument dedicated by Cartilia Materna (CIL VI.12428): monument block, inscription
• Cippus for Heria Thisbe (CIL VI.10120): monument, side 1, side 2, inscription
• Altar for Cantinea Procla (CIL VI.34776): monument; relief portrait; inscription; left side; angle view; right side
• Altar for Julia Saturnina (CIL VI.20667): monument front, left, right; portrait; inscription
• Cippus for Didia Charis (CIL VI.37153): monument, inscription, cinerary urn repository, urceus, patera
• Altar for Claudia Ianuaria (CIL VI.15475): monument, inscription, side 1, side 2; lid
• Sarcophagus fragment by Flavia Sabina (CIL VI.18051): inscription
• Altar for Attia Agele (CIL VI.12758): monument; portrait relief
• Dedications by Claudia Prepontis (CIL VI.15003): relief placque; portrait; inscription; altar; inscription; portrait relief
• Cippus for Gallia Procula dedicated by Claudia Balbilla (CIL VI.18870): monument
• Cippus for Feridia Ianuaria (CIL VI.17888; see also CIL VI.17887): monument
• Tablet dedicated by Bennia Helena (AE 1939, 154): inscription
• Tablet for Atistia (CIL I.1206): monument (see her husband Eurysaces' tomb at Porta Maggiore)
• Altar dedicated by Valeria Spes (CIL VI.28277): monument; frieze; inscription
• Cippus for Papinia Felicitas (CIL VI.23773): monument
• Cippus for Claudia Victoria (CIL VI.15647): monument
• Cippus (partial) for Flavia Ionice (CIL X.6609): monument
• Cinerary altars belonging to Petronia Sabina (CIL VI.1820): matching altars; hers, his
• Altar for Calestronia Egloge (discovered June'08): monument
• Cippus for Julia Heuresis (CIL VI.20513): monument; inscription
• Tombstone for Vesilia Hila and family (CIL VI.28774): monument; inscription
• Altar for Grania Faustina (CIL VI.2365): monument; relief; inscription
• Tombstone for Claudia Pieris (CIL VI.15543): monument; portrait; inscription
• Tombstone for Julia Synegoris (CIL VI.20694): monument; portrait; inscription
• Cinerary altar for Cornelia Cleopatra (CIL 6. 16368): monument; inscription; crown; reclining nude; Zeus Ammon; patera; urceus
• Cippus for Claudia Amabilis (CIL VI.1809): monument
• Urn for Iunia Rufina (CIL XIV.1770): monument; side one; side two; inscription
• Altar for Antonia Panaces (CIL VI.12059): monument; ash cavity; gorgon; skeleton; side; inscription (CIL)
• Altar for Pompeia Euhodia (CIL VI.24537): monument; inscription
• Funerary Tablet dedicated by Ulpia Priscilla (CIL VI.7010): monument

In addition to the examples above, a diverse collection of Latin inscriptions (both funerary and honorary dedications, principally for men) can be found together with their transcriptions at Brian Harvey's Epigraphy site. Another good source for images of funerary monuments is Ostia Inscriptions.

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Return to Inscription Project

St. Joseph's University, Funerary Inscription Project

Project Bibliography

Additional more specific reference materials for this project may be found among the site's Instructional Resources in Bibliography and Resources.

Handbooks on Epigraphy

• Booms, Dirk. 2016. Latin Inscriptions. Ancient scripts. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum. An introduction for museum visitors to Latin epigraphy, it makes accessible and meaningful the practice and content of Roman writing on stone and coins, including examples of both monumental and funerary inscriptions.
• Cooley, Alison E. 2012. The Cambridge Manual of Latin Epigraphy. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. A good though challenging introduction to epigraphy perhaps better suited to the professor than the students. Chapter 3 "A technical guide to Latin epigraphy" is especially useful for this assignment as it lists the major sources of published inscriptions (especially CIL and including online sites) and explains how to use them and how to read and interpret inscriptions and monuments.
• Gordon, Arthur E. 1983. Illustrated Introduction to Latin Epigraphy. Berkeley, LA, London: University of California Press Press. Good general introduction, with practical information, many examples, photos.
• Keppie, Lawrence. 1991. Understanding Roman Inscriptions. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Some practical information, much discussion of inscriptions in their social and economic context.

Roman Inscription Anthologies

• Gordon, Arthur E., Joyce S. Gordon. 1958. Album of Dated Latin Inscriptions: Rome and the Neighborhood, Augustus to Nerva. Berkeley, LA: University of California Press.
• Hartnett, Matthew. 2008. By Roman Hands: Inscriptions and Graffiti for Students of Latin. Newburyport, MA: Focus.
• Harvey, Brian K. 2004. Roman Lives: Ancient Roman Life as Illustrated by Latin Inscriptions. Newburyport, MA: Focus.
• Herman, Jozsef. 2000. Vulgar Latin. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University.
• LaFleur, Richard A. 2010. Scribblers, Sculptors, and Scribes: A Companion to Wheelock¹s Latin and Other Introductory Latin Textbooks. New York: Harper Collins.
• Raia, A, C. Luschnig, J. Sebesta. 2005. The Worlds of Roman Women. Newburyport, MA: Focus Press. Includes inscriptions among other Latin texts about women.
• Shore, Paul. 1997. Rest Lightly: An Anthology of Latin and Greek Tomb Inscriptions. Wauconda, Ill.: Bolchazy-Carducci. Includes Greek as well as Latin inscriptions, with English translations.

Iconography and Social Context

• Carroll, Maureen. 2006. Spirits of the Dead: Roman Funerary Commemoration in Western Europe. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. Excellent information on Roman funerary practices, not only in Rome but also in Italy and the western provinces. The book demonstrates that inscriptions provide valuable testimony about many aspects of Roman life, culture, and social relations. Chapters 5 ("Conveying a Message") and 7 ("Family and Household") are particularly useful for this project, especially as background reading for the teacher.
• Davies, G. "The Significance of the Handshake Motif in Classical Funerary Art." In American Journal of Archaeology 89: 627-640.
• Elsner, Jas and Janet Huskinson, eds. 2011. Life, Death and Representation: Some New Work on Roman Sarcophagi. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter. Beginning with an article on the types of Roman funerary monument preceding sarcophagi, this book contains excellent articles on many aspects of sarcophagi, including the workshops that produced them.
• Kampen, N.B. 1981. "Biographical Narration and Roman Funerary Art." American Journal of Archaeology 85: 47-58.
• Koortbojian, Michael. 1995. Myth, Meaning, and Memory on Roman Sarcophagi. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press.

Online Resources for Latin Inscriptions

• Abbreviations in Latin Inscriptions.Tom Elliott. Too comprehensive and complex for general use, but helpful in resolving unusual abbreviations.
• Introduction to Greek and Latin epigraphy: an absolute beginners' guide. Onno van Nijf. This webpage, though dated, provides a great deal of information and resources about both Greek and Latin epigraphy.
• Latin Epigraphy: Major Web Resources. On Lacus Curtius.
• VIDEO "Meet the Romans with Mary Beard" is a three-part BBC series, each an hour long. In it, this talented scholar travels to museums and archaeological sites, many closed to the public, in Rome, Ostia, Pompeii and Herculaneum, incorporating abundant inscriptional evidence into contemporary and humorous presentations of familiar and unusual material remains of non-elite Romans. Focusing always on the stories told by ordinary Romans, Beard treats in Part 1 the question "Who were the [Imperial] Romans?", in Part 2 daily life, in Part 3 behind the doors of the Roman family.

Online Databases of Latin Inscriptions

• Epigraphik-Datenbank Clauss / Slaby (EDCS). The most comprehensive collection of Latin inscriptions, so best place to begin a search. However, the editorial work is not always reliable, especially in resolving abbreviations or missing letters. Does not give information about the physical monuments.
• Epigraphic Database Heidelberg (EDH). Search page. Not as comprehensive as EDCS, but scholarly and reliable, including much more detailed information about the inscriptions and the monument, sometimes even images.
• Epigraphic Database Roma (EDR). Search page. Similar to EDH but has, in some cases, more current information and more images. Concentrates on inscriptions in Rome and the Italian peninsula, including Sardinia and Sicily.
• Hispania Epigraphica (HE). Search page Comprehensive database of Latin inscriptions from the Iberian peninsula)