Inscriptions

An inscription is a text that is cut, carved, engraved, painted, or otherwise impressed on a durable surface. The term comes from Latin inscriptio, referring to writing on something meant to endure. In archaeology and epigraphy, inscriptions provide primary information about people, events, beliefs, laws, dedications, or memorials.

Inscriptions appear on stone, metal, ceramic, wood, clay tablets, and other materials. They range from monumental inscriptions on public monuments and stelae to funerary epitaphs, dedicatory and votive texts on temples or offerings, and official decrees, treaties, or public records. Informal writings scratched on walls, pottery, or other objects are called graffiti and are studied when preserved.

Culturally diverse inscriptions include Egyptian hieroglyphic texts on temples, Mesopotamian cuneiform on clay tablets and monuments, Greek and Latin inscriptions on marble or bronze, Norse runic inscriptions on stones, and Mayan glyphs on stelae. Buddhist and Hindu inscriptions on sacred sites also contribute to the record.

Techniques involve chiseling, carving, incising, stamping, or painting of the text. Materials and stylistic features help date and contextualize inscriptions, and dating is aided by paleography, archaeology, and, when available, bilingual or multilingual texts (as with the Rosetta Stone, which aided decipherment of hieroglyphs).

Significance lies in providing direct historical data about governance, religion, social structures, language, and daily life. Preservation challenges include weathering, damage, sanitation, and later alterations.

See also: epigraphy, paleography, inscriptions in art and archaeology.