The Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL) is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms an authoritative source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions throw light on all aspects of Roman life and history. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... Inscriptions are words or letters written, engraved, painted, or otherwise traced on a surface and can appear in contexts both small and monumental. ... Epigraphy (Greek, επιγραφή - written upon) is the study of inscriptions engraved into stone or other permanent materials, or cast in metal, the science of classifying them as to cultural context and date, elucidating them and assessing what conclusions can be deduced from them. ... Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, which begins roughly with the earliest-recorded Greek poetry of Homer (7th century BC), and continues through the rise of Christianity and the fall of the Western Roman Empire (5th century AD...

The CIL collects all Latin inscriptions from the whole territory of the Imperium, ordering them geographically and systematically. Earlier volumes collected and published authoritative versions of all previously published inscriptions. The Corpus continues to be updated in new editions and supplements.

In 1847 a committee was created in Berlin with the aim of publishing an organized collection of Latin inscriptions, which had previously been described piecemeal by hundreds of scholars over the preceding centuries. The leading figure of this committee was Theodor Mommsen (who wrote several of the volumes covering Italy). Much of the work involved personal inspections of sites and monuments in an attempt to replicate the original as much as possible. In those cases where a previously cited inscription could no longer be found, the authors tried to get an accurate reading by comparing the versions of the published inscription in the works of previous authors who had seen the original. The first volume appeared in 1853. 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Berlin is the capital city and one of the sixteen states of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (30 November 1817–1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar and historian, generally regarded as the greatest classicist of the 19th century. ...

The CIL presently consists of 17 volumes in about 70 parts, recording approximately 180,000 inscriptions. Thirteen supplementary volumes have plates and special indices. The first volume, in two sections, covered the oldest inscriptions, to the end of the Republic; volumes II to XIV are divided geographically, according to the regions where the inscriptions were found. Volume XVII, for instance, is entirely devoted to milestones. A volume XVIII is planned, which will contain the "Carmina Latina Epigraphica." A Latin Index Numerum: Ein Findbuch Zum Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum was published in 2004. See also Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century). ... A Spanish kilometre stone A milestone on the Boston Post Road in Harvard Square, Massachusetts, USA Slate milestone near Bangor, Wales A milestone or kilometre sign is one of a series of numbered markers placed along a road at regular intervals, typically at the side of the road or in...

The descriptions include images of the original inscription if available, drawings showing the letters in their original size and position, and an interpretation reconstructing abbreviations and missing words, along with discussion of issues and problems. The language of the CIL is Latin.

The Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften continues to update and reprint the CIL. A recent price for the 70 volumes and parts that are currently in print is € 28,539.85.

See also

• Epigraphy
• Inscriptiones Graecae

Epigraphy (Greek, επιγραφή - written upon) is the study of inscriptions engraved into stone or other permanent materials, or cast in metal, the science of classifying them as to cultural context and date, elucidating them and assessing what conclusions can be deduced from them. ...

External links

• CIL project homepage at BBAW
• Brief publisher's description of the CIL
• Princeton University site: extended contents of the 17 "volumes"
• Jean-Marie Lassère, Manuel d’épigraphie romaine. Paris : Picard, Antiquité-synthèses, 2007, 2 vol., 1167 p. (2ème édition revue et mise à jour, 1ère édit. en 2005).

Epigraphie latine *