The Inscriptions of Asia Minor
One of the most urgent duties of the »Commission for Archaeological Research in Asia Minor« since its foundation in 1890 was the publication of all of the Greek and Latin inscriptions of Asia Minor in corpora structured according to the ancient regions. To this end, the series »Tituli Asiae Minoris« was founded, forming a counterpart to the series »Inscriptiones Graecae« published by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences. This undertaking is continued by the working group for epigraphy.
The foundation for the work on the corpora is diverse. At first, research journeys to Turkey were and continue to be necessary; countless inscriptions can still be found there today and need to be rescued from the threat of destruction. The material secured in this manner is archived in the form of copies in sketchbooks and travel journals, photographs and squeezes, and prepared for publication. The collection of squeezes currently numbers over 2,000 pieces that are also continually consulted and evaluated by foreign scholars. The sketchbooks and travel journals have already been predominantly digitized, and the already published material they contain should be made available in the internet to the scientific community; those inscriptions that have not yet been published will be added after their publication.
In addition, a »Schedenapparat« (a collection of preparatory notes) has been taken over from the Asia Minor Commission, in which the entire Greek and Latin inscriptions from Asia Minor should be recorded in a card index have been recorded in the form of a card catalogue; all new finds should be continually appended and for every individual inscription as well as for every region the modern scholarly bibliography should be collected and updated. The collection currently includes ca. 50,000 sheets and should be further developed, as well as transferred to an electronic databank in the long-term.
The inscriptions of Ephesus
The approximately 7000 stone inscriptions and 1500 graffiti and dipinti found in Ephesus to date provide an invaluable contribution to the reconstruction of the city's history: they allow extraordinary insights into almost all areas of ancient life. Nevertheless, so far only a repertory of the inscriptions has been presented, i.e. without translation and historical interpretation. A corpus of inscriptions from Ephesus has been a desideratum of ancient studies research for almost 50 years. Thomas Corsten and his colleagues have been working on this task for several years: The first fascicle of the corpus (TAM VI 1.1) comprises all inscriptions and testimonies on the private, public and sacred boundaries in Ephesus and is about to be completed by Vera Hofmann. Elisabeth Rathmayr and Veronika Scheibelreiter-Gail are working on the fascicle "Graffiti and Dipinti". Patrick Sänger (University of Münster) is working on the instrumentum domesticum. In addition to the inscriptions that have already been published, new finds are constantly being edited, including in cooperation with Ali Demirkıran from the Efes Müzesi Selçuk.
From the work on TAM VI 1:
From the work on TAM VI 1:
- T. Corsten – H. Taeuber, Neue Inschriften aus Ephesos XIV: Grabinschriften, ÖJh 90, 2021, 69–87.
- T. Corsten, Neue Inschriften aus Ephesos XV: Kuretenlisten, ÖJh 91, 2022, 89–98.
- T. Corsten – A. Demirkıran, Inscriptions from Ephesos and Surroundings, Philia 9, 2023, 45–56.
- V. Hofmann, Neue Inschriften zum Artemision von Ephesos I: Zwei Grenzsteine der Artemis aus dem Kaystros-Tal, Philia 6, 2020, 74–84.
- V. Hofmann, Neue Inschriften zum Artemision von Ephesos II: Hellenistische Dekrete, Philia 7, 2021, 77–92.
- V. Hofmann, Neue Inschriften zum Artemision von Ephesos III: Neopoioi-Inschriften, Philia 8, 2022, 79–87.
Graffiti and Dipinti
Dipintiare painted inscriptions that were planned at the same time as the inscription carrier.Graffiti refers to all graphic signs (letters, words, texts) and pictorial motifs that were applied secondarily to a support surface. They can be scratched or painted on.
Of the dipinti and graffiti from the residential buildings in Ephesus, those in Hanghaus 2 by Hans Taeuber have already been presented as a catalogue in the publications of the individual residential units. Elisabeth Rathmayr and Veronika Scheibelreiter-Gail analysed them in their spatial and temporal contexts as part of the FWF project P 33550 together with all other dipinti and graffiti from residential buildings in Ephesus. The results will be published as a book and open access in 2025.
A comprehensive corpus of all dipinti and graffiti from Ephesus will be compiled by Elisabeth Rathmayr and Veronika Scheibelreiter-Gail. In preparation, annual research trips to Ephesus are organised.
Principal Investigator
Cooperation
Patrick Sänger, Universität Münster (Instrumentum domesticum)