Inskrift

Inskrift (plural inskrifter) is a text carved, incised, painted, or otherwise fixed on a durable surface such as stone, metal, or wood. It is intended to be read and preserved over time. In archaeology and epigraphy, inscriptions are primary sources that record information about people, events, or institutions, and they can be decorative, commemorative, or dedicatory.

Inscriptions take many forms. Epigraphic texts include epitaphs on tombs, dedicatory inscriptions on temples, altars, and public buildings, and monumental or legal texts on monuments. Religious, political, and commemorative messages are common, as are votive or donor inscriptions. The writing may be engraved, incised, painted, or cast, and it may be in the language, dialect, or script of the culture or in a ceremonial script.

The study of inscriptions, called epigraphy, combines paleography, philology, and archaeology. Dating and interpretation rely on handwriting or carving styles, linguistic features, dating clues in the text, and the archaeological context. Inscriptions often name rulers, donors, dates, events, and places, providing crucial evidence for history, religion, art, and daily life.

Historically, inskrifter appear on stone stelae, gravestones, altars, monuments, and architectural facades in many cultures from the ancient world to modern times. They preserve names, dedications, treaties, laws, and commemorations, and continue to be catalogued and studied by scholars to reconstruct languages, scripts, and historical narratives.