Abstract

This paper introduces a database currently being developed as part of my doctoral research, which focuses on a distinctive category of vase inscriptions, which I define as φωνούμενα. This term refers to inscriptions usually placed near the mouths of depicted figures, reproducing the words or sounds imagined as being uttered by them. It includes both the so-called speech inscriptions and nonsense inscriptions that, for various reasons, are to be interpreted as spoken by the figures themselves.

The first aim of the project is to establish a comprehensive corpus, in order to gain a clear overview of the material and provide a sound basis for broader historical questions. I have made extensive use of digital resources such as the Beazley Archive Pottery Database and the Attic Vase Inscriptions. However, both present specific limitations: the BAPD provides only minimal information on inscriptions, as they are not its main focus, while AVI lacks interoperability with other epigraphic databases, as it does not use EpiDoc, now a de facto standard for digital epigraphy.

To address these issues, I am developing a new EpiDoc database of the φωνούμενα, using the EpiDoc Front-End Services platform for online publication. Hopefully, it will be available as an Open Access resource at the end of my PhD, with the goal of expanding it in the future.

Since vase inscriptions raise specific challenges compared to “standard” epigraphy, I am adapting EpiDoc structures to capture relevant metadata, creating new indexes and facets that enable effective querying of the corpus. Ultimately, this approach aims to align the study of inscribed pottery with the broader digital epigraphic ecosystem.

Back to Day 1 programme