Edition Practices

Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum

This research project collects and edits the classical Latin inscriptions of the entire Roman world.
Since its foundation by Theodor Mommsen, the inscription collection Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL) has been the definitive documentation of the epigraphic legacy of classical Rome. It is the only systematic, critical edition that collects all the epigraphic evidence of the former Imperium Romanum, and this comprehensive collection of sources arranged thematically and geographically is an indispensable tool in classical studies. In international collaboration, the texts contained in the Corpus are continuously increased and brought up to date in the light of new research.
 
In the Archivum Corporis Electronicum (ACE), the documentation of the epigraphic materials are opened up on the internet for the research community and anyone else interested: photographs of the original and of the paper squeeze (ectypa), drawings, editions of inscriptions and bibliographic references on Latin inscriptions can all be accessed from the CIL website for research purposes. Additions to the database are made continuously.
 
The Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum is already host to the world’s largest collection of photographs and squeezes of Latin inscriptions, which the user can also access using links with other databases, so that it is possible to search under a range of criteria.
 
This long-term Academy Project is part of the Research Centre for Primary Sources of the Ancient World at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.