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Introduction | Roman Inscriptions of Britain

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <title>Introduction | Roman Inscriptions of Britain</title> <meta name="collection" content=""> <meta name="dcterms.type" content="tablondbloomberg"> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no"> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-5HCHBZW8PK"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-5HCHBZW8PK'); </script> <link rel="icon" href="/img/favicon.png" type="image/png"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="//fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Cardo:400,400italic&amp;subset=latin,greek-ext,greek,latin-ext" type="text/css"> <link rel='stylesheet' href='//fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Cinzel:400,700' type='text/css'> <link rel="stylesheet" href="//fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Roboto:400,400i,700,700i&amp;subset=latin-ext"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="//use.fontawesome.com/releases/v5.8.1/css/all.css"> <!-- CSS only --> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.3/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" integrity="sha384-QWTKZyjpPEjISv5WaRU9OFeRpok6YctnYmDr5pNlyT2bRjXh0JMhjY6hW+ALEwIH" crossorigin="anonymous"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap-icons@1.11.1/font/bootstrap-icons.css"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/rib.min.css"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/custom.min.css"> </head> <body id="body-TLB-Chapter-1"> <div class="container-fluid"> <div class="row header"> <div class="col"> <header> <h2 class="site-title"><a href="/" title="Home">Roman Inscriptions of Britain</a></h2> </header> </div> </div> <nav class="navbar navbar-expand-xl navbar-dark bg-dark"> <div class="container"> <button class="navbar-toggler" type="button" data-bs-toggle="collapse" data-bs-target="#mainNav" aria-controls="mainNav" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Toggle navigation"> <span class="navbar-toggler-icon"></span> </button> <div class="collapse navbar-collapse" id="mainNav"> <ul class="navbar-nav me-auto mb-2 mb-lg-0"> <!-- This li item has the active class and the screen reader only span --> <li class="nav-item"> <a href="/" class="nav-link">Home</a> </li> <li class="nav-item dropdown"> <a class="nav-link dropdown-toggle" href="#" data-bs-toggle="dropdown">About</a> <ul class="dropdown-menu"> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/about/about-rib-online">About RIB Online</a></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/about/editorial-policy">Editorial Policy</a></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/about/credits-acknowledgements">Credits and Acknowledgements</a></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/about/privacy-cookies">Privacy &amp; 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Here's some guidance:</p> <ul> <li> If you already know the number of the inscription from <em>RIB</em>, or tablet from the Vindolanda or Bloomberg Tablets, you could <a href="/inscriptions/searchnumber">Search by number</a>. Note that only those inscriptions in <em>RIB</em> volumes I (1-2400) and III (3001-3550) may currently be found. </li> <li> Enter the search term you are interested in, e.g., <strong>Mithras</strong>, <strong>Vindolanda</strong>, or <strong>Caracalla</strong>. </li> <li> Searching is case-<em>insensitive</em>. This means searching for <strong>IMPERATOR</strong> will return exactly the same results as <strong>imperator</strong>. </li> <li> Boolean searches are supported. If you want to see inscriptions that mention Mars <em>or</em> Cocidius, enter <strong>Mars OR Cocidius</strong>. Likewise, if you want to see inscriptions that mention Mars <em>and</em> Cocidius, enter <strong>Mars AND Cocidius</strong>. You must use capital letters for <strong>OR</strong> or <strong>AND</strong> - otherwise the search engine will interpret <strong>or</strong> (or <strong>and</strong>) as a search term. </li> <li> Wild card searching is supported. E.g., searching for <strong>Sul*</strong> will return results including Suleviae, Sulinus, Sulis, Sulpicius, etc. </li> <li> Searches for phrases consisting of more than one word should be enclosed within double quotation marks. E.g., searching for <strong>"Old Carlisle"</strong> will return results containing the phrase <strong>"Old Carlisle"</strong>, but omit inscriptions containing only <strong>Old</strong> and only <strong>Carlisle</strong>. </li> <li> After you receive your first set of search results, you will have the option to apply further filtering criteria. </li> <li> Note that all Latin words have been lemmatised. This means searching for 'cohors' will return inscriptions containing <em>cohors</em>, <em>cohortis</em>, etc. </li> <li> The search functionality currently searches the texts of each inscription, as well as its English translation and all associated metadata. It is hoped that the filtering function can help to reduce the number of search results. An advanced search interface is being developed that will permit more fine-grained search queries and give the user significantly more control over search results. </li> <li> Dates: Given the inherent difficulty in dating inscriptions, most have not been assigned a particular date or range of dates any more specific than those of the traditionally recognized Romano-British era (<span class="sc">a.d.</span> 43-410). This means that queries for a certain range of dates will be over-inclusive, since all undated inscriptions will necessarily fall within any range specified. To avoid this, a checkbox labeled "Included undated inscriptions" has been added to the Date Range filter panel, which is not ticked by default. If you wish search for all inscriptions that may possibly fall within the date range specified, dated or undated, simply tick this box.</li> <!--<li> The indexes on which this search functionality is based are wholly separate and apart from the the <a href="//epindex/">Epigraphic Indexes</a> prepared by Roger Goodburn and Helen Waugh and published in 1983. Those indexes are presented as published, and thus are based on the texts from the original 1965 edition of <em>RIB</em> and accordingly do not reflect subsequent changes. </li>--> </ul> </div> <div class="modal-footer"> <button type="button" class="btn btn-default" data-bs-dismiss="modal">Close</button> </div> </div> </div> <!-- .modal-dialog --> </div><!-- #searchInfoModal --> </div> </div> </nav> <!-- End Nav Menu --> <div id="main-content" class="row main-content justify-content-center"> <noscript><p>For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Here are the <a href="//www.enable-javascript.com/" target="_blank"> instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser</a>.</p></noscript> <div class="col col-xxl-10"> <!-- Breadcrumbs --> <nav aria-label="breadcrumb"> <ol class="breadcrumb"> <li class="breadcrumb-item"><a href="/">Home</a></li> <li class="breadcrumb-item"><a href="/tablondbloomberg">Bloomberg Tablets</a></li> <li class="breadcrumb-item active" aria-current="page">Introduction</li> </ol> </nav> <!-- Main section --> <div class="row"> <div class="col-lg-4"> <button class="btn btn-sm btn-outline-secondary sidenav-toggle" type="button" data-bs-toggle="collapse" data-bs-target="#SideNav" aria-expanded="true" aria-controls="SideNav"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 448 512"><path d="M0 96C0 78.33 14.33 64 32 64H416C433.7 64 448 78.33 448 96C448 113.7 433.7 128 416 128H32C14.33 128 0 113.7 0 96zM0 256C0 238.3 14.33 224 32 224H416C433.7 224 448 238.3 448 256C448 273.7 433.7 288 416 288H32C14.33 288 0 273.7 0 256zM416 448H32C14.33 448 0 433.7 0 416C0 398.3 14.33 384 32 384H416C433.7 384 448 398.3 448 416C448 433.7 433.7 448 416 448z"/></svg> <span class="collapse-menu"> </span> Menu </button> <div class="collapse show" id="SideNav"> <ul class="nav sidenav flex-column"> <li class="nav-item"><a href="/tablondbloomberg/introduction" class="nav-link">Introduction</a></li> <li class="nav-item"><a href="/tablondbloomberg/form-epigraphy" class="nav-link">Form and Epigraphy</a></li> <li class="nav-item"><a href="/tablondbloomberg/stylus-tablets" class="nav-link">Stylus Tablets</a></li> <li class="nav-item"><a href="/tablondbloomberg/ink-tablets" class="nav-link">Ink Tablets</a></li> <li class="nav-item"><a href="/tablondbloomberg/indexes" class="nav-link">Indexes</a></li> </ul> </div></div> <div class="col-lg-8"> <section class="main"> <div id="TLB-Chapter-1"> <h1>Introduction</h1> <ul class="plain"> <li><a href="#TLB-Chapter-1.3.1">Textual conventions</a></li> <li><a href="#TLB-Chapter-1.3.3">Referencing Vindolanda tablets and <em>RIB</em></a></li> <li><a href="#TLB-Chapter-1.3.4">The catalogue order and content</a></li> <li><a href="#TLB-Chapter-1.3.6">Conventions used in transcribing the tablets</a></li> <li><a href="#TLB-Chapter-1.3.7">Graphical conventions</a></li> </ul> <div id="TLB-Chapter-1.3.1"> <h3>Textual conventions</h3> <p>The basic unit of cross-reference throughout the excavation, recording and analysis is the context, a unique number given to each recognised archaeological event (such as a layer, wall, pit cut, pit fill, or road surface). Context numbers in the text are shown within square brackets, thus: [100]. ([+] indicates unstratified.) During the post-excavation process contexts are aggregated into subgroups, with subsequent analysis assigning subgroups to a higher level of interpretive clustering, the group. These groups are then further refined into land uses, which form the classification used within this volume and all MOLA publications. Details of subgroups and groups are not included within this text, as the physical archive held at LAARC is organised according to context number.</p> <p>Land-use entities are described as Buildings (B), Open Areas (OA), Roads (R) and Structures (S), numbered from 1 onwards for the site sequence (thus B1–, OA1–, R1–, S1–). These land uses are organised into the highest level of chronological interpretation, the period structure.</p> <p>The catalogued writing tablets are listed in period and phase order, by land use and then context, and each carries a publication catalogue reference number, <a href="/inscriptions/TabLondBloomberg1">&lt;WT1&gt;</a>–. All accessioned (or registered) finds receive a unique identifying number during the post-excavation process which is presented within angled brackets, thus: &lt;100&gt;. This numbering precedes and is independent of the publication catalogue &lt;WT&gt; numbers. Note that other ‘small’ or accessioned finds referred to in this volume and detailed in the companion Bloomberg London artefact volume (<a id="d56e95" href="#" class="biblio" data-key="bibC04694" data-bs-toggle="popover" data-bs-trigger="focus" data-bs-html="true" data-bs-sanitize="false" data-bs-content="<strong&gt;Bryan, J., Tetreau, M. and Watson, S. forthcoming</strong&gt;&amp;#8194;&amp;#8194;<em&gt;Roman landfill and construction at Bloomberg London: excavations 2005−14</em&gt; (MOLA Monograph Series) . <a href=&#34;https://www.zotero.org/groups/2148684/items/GANJDWQT&#34; target=&#34;_blank&#34; class=&#34;extref&#34;&gt;Link to Zotero</a&gt;" tabindex="7">Bryan et al in prep</a>; <a id="d56e100" href="#" class="biblio" data-key="bibC04692" data-bs-toggle="popover" data-bs-trigger="focus" data-bs-html="true" data-bs-sanitize="false" data-bs-content="<strong&gt;Marshall, M. and Wardle, A. forthcoming</strong&gt;&amp;#8194;&amp;#8194;<em&gt;Roman glass, small finds, coins and textiles from Bloomberg London: excavations 2005−14</em&gt; (MOLA Monograph Series) . <a href=&#34;https://www.zotero.org/groups/2148684/items/3ZQGEPIR&#34; target=&#34;_blank&#34; class=&#34;extref&#34;&gt;Link to Zotero</a&gt;" tabindex="8">Marshall and Wardle in prep</a>) are identified here by accession numbers, not by publication catalogue number.</p> <p>In all, the MOLA Oracle database comprises 411 wooden writing tablet accessions (WOOD WRIT, including the two ink-leaf tablets), some of which consist of more than one fragment, together with two wooden stylus label accessions (WOOD LABE). There are a number of instances where separate accessions have subsequently been found to be conjoining; in all instances such accessions are from the same context. These examples are catalogue items <a href="/inscriptions/TabLondBloomberg77">&lt;WT77&gt;</a> (accession nos &lt;7478&gt; and &lt;7479&gt;) and <a href="/inscriptions/TabLondBloomberg88">&lt;WT88&gt;</a> (&lt;6365&gt; and &lt;6367&gt;), plus two uncatalogued examples, both from context [4044], Structure 151 phase 3, period 3 phase 1 (late): &lt;3305&gt; and &lt;3306&gt;, and &lt;4790&gt; and &lt;4791&gt;. Because they are conjoining, these eight items are treated as representing four. Thus the 181 catalogued stylus tablets comprise 183 accessions and the 224 non-catalogued items consist of 226 accessions.</p> </div> <div id="TLB-Chapter-1.3.3"> <h3>Referencing Vindolanda tablets and <em>RIB</em></h3> <p>The more detailed references to the Vindolanda writing tablets (<em>Tab Vindol</em> 1−3) work as follows (on the examples of <a href="/inscriptions/TabVindol643"><em>Tab Vindol</em> 3, no. 643.a.i, l 4</a>; <a href="/inscriptions/TabVindol643">ii, l 3</a>; <a href="/inscriptions/TabVindol643">back, ll 1, 5</a>; <a href="/inscriptions/TabVindol670">no. 670.B.ii, l 4</a>). Following the item number, lower-case ‘a’, ‘b’, ‘c’ (etc) denote fragments (with conjoining pieces counting as a single fragment); ‘i’ and ‘ii’ indicate the columns of the diptychs frequent among that collection; subsequent (Arabic) numerals are line (l, ll) numbers. Upper-case ‘A’ and ‘B’ refer to what the Vindolanda editors call ‘sides’ or ‘front’ and ‘back’ (in the present publication, ‘face’ is used in preference to their ambiguous ‘side’); ‘front’ and ‘back’ apply to letters (correspondence) in the form of diptychs with the text on one face and the address and/or sender’s name on the other face, and which would have been folded up and tied so that only the ‘back’ was visible. In references to <em>The Roman inscriptions of Britain</em> (eg <a href="/inscriptions/2401.15"><em>RIB</em> II.1, 2401.15</a>) the number preceding the stop denotes a category of object (eg ‘Military diplomata’) and the number following the stop an individual item within that category.</p> </div> <div id="TLB-Chapter-1.3.4"> <h3>The catalogue order and content</h3> <p>In exact figures, 411 tablets and two tags or labels were recorded as individual accessioned finds (above). Of these, 90 stylus writing tablets have been catalogued according to their content or form: ‘Correspondence’ (<a href="/tablondbloomberg/stylus-tablets#TLB-Chapter-4.1">Chapter 4.1</a>), 43 tablets; ‘Financial or legal documents’ (<a href="/tablondbloomberg/stylus-tablets#TLB-Chapter-4.2">Chapter 4.2</a>), 25 tablets; ‘Accounts’ (<a href="/tablondbloomberg/stylus-tablets#TLB-Chapter-4.3">Chapter 4.3</a>), 8 tablets; and ‘Miscellaneous’ (<a id="d56e242" href="#" class="biblio" data-key="bibC02803" data-bs-toggle="popover" data-bs-trigger="focus" data-bs-html="true" data-bs-sanitize="false" data-bs-content="<strong&gt;Tomlin, R.S.O. 2016b</strong&gt;&amp;#8194;&amp;#8194;<em&gt;Roman London&amp;#8217;s First Voices: Writing tablets from the Bloomberg excavations, 2010-14</em&gt; (MoLAS monograph, 72) (London). <a href=&#34;https://www.mola.org.uk/roman-londons-first-voices-writing-tablets-bloomberg-excavations-2010%E2%80%9314&#34; target=&#34;_blank&#34; class=&#34;extref&#34;&gt;Link to item</a&gt; <a href=&#34;https://www.zotero.org/groups/2148684/items/FI2Q4IXN&#34; target=&#34;_blank&#34; class=&#34;extref&#34;&gt;Link to Zotero</a&gt;" tabindex="19">Chapter 4.4</a>), comprising 14 tablets. These have all been drawn, except for seven miscellaneous tablets of unusual format which are not inscribed. The other 91 stylus tablets, inscribed but illegible, are described in <a href="/tablondbloomberg/stylus-tablets#TLB-Chapter-4.5">Chapter 4.5</a> (‘Descripta’). Within each category, tablets are ordered according to their occurrence in the archaeological sequence (ordered by period and phase, then land use and context), except for internally dated documents, which are ordered by their date. In addition, the two stylus tags or labels – one inscribed and the other with a recessed face – are catalogued in <a href="/tablondbloomberg/stylus-tablets#TLB-Chapter-4.6">Chapter 4.6</a>. The two ink-leaf tablets identified are catalogued in <a id="d56e254" href="#" class="biblio" data-key="bibC02803" data-bs-toggle="popover" data-bs-trigger="focus" data-bs-html="true" data-bs-sanitize="false" data-bs-content="<strong&gt;Tomlin, R.S.O. 2016b</strong&gt;&amp;#8194;&amp;#8194;<em&gt;Roman London&amp;#8217;s First Voices: Writing tablets from the Bloomberg excavations, 2010-14</em&gt; (MoLAS monograph, 72) (London). <a href=&#34;https://www.mola.org.uk/roman-londons-first-voices-writing-tablets-bloomberg-excavations-2010%E2%80%9314&#34; target=&#34;_blank&#34; class=&#34;extref&#34;&gt;Link to item</a&gt; <a href=&#34;https://www.zotero.org/groups/2148684/items/FI2Q4IXN&#34; target=&#34;_blank&#34; class=&#34;extref&#34;&gt;Link to Zotero</a&gt;" tabindex="22">Chapter 5</a>. An appendix (<a id="d56e257" href="#" class="biblio" data-key="bibC02803" data-bs-toggle="popover" data-bs-trigger="focus" data-bs-html="true" data-bs-sanitize="false" data-bs-content="<strong&gt;Tomlin, R.S.O. 2016b</strong&gt;&amp;#8194;&amp;#8194;<em&gt;Roman London&amp;#8217;s First Voices: Writing tablets from the Bloomberg excavations, 2010-14</em&gt; (MoLAS monograph, 72) (London). <a href=&#34;https://www.mola.org.uk/roman-londons-first-voices-writing-tablets-bloomberg-excavations-2010%E2%80%9314&#34; target=&#34;_blank&#34; class=&#34;extref&#34;&gt;Link to item</a&gt; <a href=&#34;https://www.zotero.org/groups/2148684/items/FI2Q4IXN&#34; target=&#34;_blank&#34; class=&#34;extref&#34;&gt;Link to Zotero</a&gt;" tabindex="23">Chapter 6</a>) notes for comparison the <span class="foreign">c</span> 300 tablets previously found in London, 19 of which were legible enough to be read and published previously (<a id="d56e265" href="#" class="biblio" data-key="bibC02803" data-bs-toggle="popover" data-bs-trigger="focus" data-bs-html="true" data-bs-sanitize="false" data-bs-content="<strong&gt;Tomlin, R.S.O. 2016b</strong&gt;&amp;#8194;&amp;#8194;<em&gt;Roman London&amp;#8217;s First Voices: Writing tablets from the Bloomberg excavations, 2010-14</em&gt; (MoLAS monograph, 72) (London). <a href=&#34;https://www.mola.org.uk/roman-londons-first-voices-writing-tablets-bloomberg-excavations-2010%E2%80%9314&#34; target=&#34;_blank&#34; class=&#34;extref&#34;&gt;Link to item</a&gt; <a href=&#34;https://www.zotero.org/groups/2148684/items/FI2Q4IXN&#34; target=&#34;_blank&#34; class=&#34;extref&#34;&gt;Link to Zotero</a&gt;" tabindex="24">Table 13</a>).</p> <p>The three initial lines of each catalogue entry comprise successive standard elements; the round brackets indicate the abbreviations used.</p> <ul class="plain"> <li>&lt;W(riting) T(ablet) number&gt; Type of wood; type of tablet Fig(ure) number(s)</li> <li>&lt;accession number&gt;, [context number]; period and phase, land use</li> <li>Complete or incomplete, with note of surviving ends and sides. W(idth); H(eight); L(ength) for tags/labels; Th(ickness) of R(im) and F(ace), with incomplete dimensions enclosed by (brackets).</li> </ul> <p>For each catalogue entry, the catalogue number with appropriate letter prefix (here, WT) is given in angled brackets. The wood species identification methodology is described below. For the tablet type see <a href="/tablondbloomberg/form-epigraphy#TLB-Chapter-2.4">Chapter 2.4</a>.</p> <p>In describing tablets, the term ‘face’ means either the front or the back, whether or not it was inscribed. But to reduce repetitive description, if one face is not inscribed, this is usually not made explicit. One face or both may be recessed to take wax: type 1 is recessed on one face only, type 2 on both faces, but with one face consisting of two panels separated by a flat-bottomed groove down the centre (as described more fully in <a href="/tablondbloomberg/form-epigraphy#TLB-Chapter-2.4">Chapter 2.4</a>). The tablets are all inscribed along their longer axis, parallel to the wood grain in ‘landscape’ format. The ‘end’ of a tablet means the top or bottom edge if it is original and retains the raised border, being further described as ‘top’ or ‘bottom’ if this can be determined from the surviving text. The ‘side’ of a tablet means the left edge or the right edge, if it is original and retains the raised border.</p> <p>This volume employs the modern spelling of ‘stylus’ (plural ‘styluses’) for the writing instrument, although the Roman term was <span class="latin">stilus</span> (plural <span class="latin">stili</span>). For the ‘three names’ (<span class="latin">tria nomina</span>) of praenomen, nomen and cognomen, see <a id="d56e325" href="#" class="biblio" data-key="bibC02803" data-bs-toggle="popover" data-bs-trigger="focus" data-bs-html="true" data-bs-sanitize="false" data-bs-content="<strong&gt;Tomlin, R.S.O. 2016b</strong&gt;&amp;#8194;&amp;#8194;<em&gt;Roman London&amp;#8217;s First Voices: Writing tablets from the Bloomberg excavations, 2010-14</em&gt; (MoLAS monograph, 72) (London). <a href=&#34;https://www.mola.org.uk/roman-londons-first-voices-writing-tablets-bloomberg-excavations-2010%E2%80%9314&#34; target=&#34;_blank&#34; class=&#34;extref&#34;&gt;Link to item</a&gt; <a href=&#34;https://www.zotero.org/groups/2148684/items/FI2Q4IXN&#34; target=&#34;_blank&#34; class=&#34;extref&#34;&gt;Link to Zotero</a&gt;" tabindex="27">Chapter 3.2</a></p> </div> <div id="TLB-Chapter-1.3.6"> <h3>Conventions used in transcribing the tablets</h3> <p>Texts are transcribed letter-by-letter as far as possible, but with editorial intervention. This is indicated by the conventions listed below, which should direct attention to the line drawing and commentary. Words have been separated in the transcript, even if this was not done in the original. Punctuation has not been added, except for hyphens when words were divided between lines. Proper nouns (personal names and place names) have been capitalised. The letter <em>u</em> has been transcribed as <em>u</em>, whether it was actually a vowel (<em>u</em>) or a consonant (<em>v</em>), since the Romans used the same letter for both; but proper nouns have been capitalised with <em>V</em>, and in the translation lower-case <em>v</em> is used. The one alphabet (<a href="/inscriptions/TabLondBloomberg79">&lt;WT79&gt;</a>) has been transcribed in capitals, but otherwise lower case is used, even in addresses which include letters of capital letter form such as B, D and II for E. Lines are numbered from the first line of which traces remain, whether or not it was originally the first line.</p> <dl> <dt><span class="interpretive">(i), (ii)</span></dt> <dd>separate columns of text (type 2 tablets; ink tablets)</dd> <dt><span class="interpretive">...</span></dt> <dd>the text is broken or incomplete at the top or bottom</dd> <dt><span class="interpretive"><span class="latin">uacat</span></span></dt> <dd>space left by the scribe on the tablet</dd> <dt><span class="interpretive">⟦abc⟧</span></dt> <dd>letter(s) erased by the scribe</dd> <dt><span class="interpretive">`abc´</span></dt> <dd>letter(s) added by the scribe above or below the line</dd> <dt><span class="interpretive">(abc)</span></dt> <dd>letter(s) omitted by abbreviation, or a symbol explained</dd> <dt><span class="interpretive">(…)</span></dt> <dd>abbreviation of uncertain length</dd> <dt><span class="interpretive">&lt;abc&gt;</span></dt> <dd>letter(s) omitted erroneously</dd> <dt><span class="interpretive">[abc]</span></dt> <dd>lost or damaged letter(s) restored</dd> <dt><span class="interpretive">[...]</span></dt> <dd>lacuna in the text of uncertain length</dd> <dt><span class="interpretive">{s}</span></dt> <dd>superfluous letter</dd> <dt><span class="interpretive">ạḅc̣</span></dt> <dd>doubtful or partially preserved letter(s)</dd> <dt><span class="interpretive">[.]</span></dt> <dd>trace of one letter</dd> <dt><span class="interpretive">[..]</span></dt> <dd>trace of two letters</dd> <dt><span class="interpretive">.. ? ..</span></dt> <dd>trace of at least three letters</dd> <dt><span class="interpretive"><span xmlns:EDF="http://epidoc.sourceforge.net/ns/functions" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" class="transform-none"><em>traces</em></span></span></dt> <dd>illegible letters</dd> <dt><span class="interpretive">?</span></dt> <dd>precedes a word whose reading is not certain</dd> <dt>*</dt> <dd>(in the catalogue commentary) conjectured word or form not known to exist</dd> </dl> </div> <div id="TLB-Chapter-1.3.7"> <h3>Graphical conventions: Catalogue illustrations</h3> <p>In the line drawings which accompany the catalogue of stylus tablets (<a id="d56e503" href="#" class="biblio" data-key="bibC02803" data-bs-toggle="popover" data-bs-trigger="focus" data-bs-html="true" data-bs-sanitize="false" data-bs-content="<strong&gt;Tomlin, R.S.O. 2016b</strong&gt;&amp;#8194;&amp;#8194;<em&gt;Roman London&amp;#8217;s First Voices: Writing tablets from the Bloomberg excavations, 2010-14</em&gt; (MoLAS monograph, 72) (London). <a href=&#34;https://www.mola.org.uk/roman-londons-first-voices-writing-tablets-bloomberg-excavations-2010%E2%80%9314&#34; target=&#34;_blank&#34; class=&#34;extref&#34;&gt;Link to item</a&gt; <a href=&#34;https://www.zotero.org/groups/2148684/items/FI2Q4IXN&#34; target=&#34;_blank&#34; class=&#34;extref&#34;&gt;Link to Zotero</a&gt;" tabindex="29">Chapter 4</a>), the original appearance is reversed (black on white instead of white against black). The limitations identified below (<a href="/tablondbloomberg/form-epigraphy#TLB-Chapter-2.2">Chapter 2.2</a>) should also be borne in mind when studying the line drawings in this volume. They represent what is visible now to an observer through a binocular microscope with a raking light. They have been made in Adobe Photoshop on the basis of high-resolution digital photographs, but with constant reference to the original. To make them requires a series of small decisions – to distinguish deliberate incisions from casual damage and irregularities in the grain, and to decide where there is no trace of an expected incision – but they do try to be objective in representing what is actually there, and not to restore what ‘must have been’. Drawing a tablet is an essential aid to reading it. The necessary photographs have often been made in sets of four, not changing the registration but varying the angle of light. The reason for this plurality is that a single photograph with light from a single angle will not reveal the whole of an incision or sometimes even distinguish it from a casual mark. The fullest record would be that of ‘reflectance transformation imaging’ (RTI), in which software combines a long series of such photographs to create a ‘three-dimensional’ scan, but unfortunately at the time of writing it could not be used directly with Photoshop to make a drawing.</p> <p>Marks which may only be casual have been drawn in outline, a convention also used for traces of earlier text(s). Whereas the line drawings reproduced at 1:1 in this volume were done, and the catalogue measurements taken, before conservation, the matching photographs here are post-conservation images. The photographed stylus tablets are thus fractionally smaller than in the line drawings because of some shrinkage during conservation (<a id="d56e518" href="#" class="biblio" data-key="bibC02803" data-bs-toggle="popover" data-bs-trigger="focus" data-bs-html="true" data-bs-sanitize="false" data-bs-content="<strong&gt;Tomlin, R.S.O. 2016b</strong&gt;&amp;#8194;&amp;#8194;<em&gt;Roman London&amp;#8217;s First Voices: Writing tablets from the Bloomberg excavations, 2010-14</em&gt; (MoLAS monograph, 72) (London). <a href=&#34;https://www.mola.org.uk/roman-londons-first-voices-writing-tablets-bloomberg-excavations-2010%E2%80%9314&#34; target=&#34;_blank&#34; class=&#34;extref&#34;&gt;Link to item</a&gt; <a href=&#34;https://www.zotero.org/groups/2148684/items/FI2Q4IXN&#34; target=&#34;_blank&#34; class=&#34;extref&#34;&gt;Link to Zotero</a&gt;" tabindex="31">chapter 1.2</a>). The caption for each item simply states ‘(scale 1:1)’.</p> <p>The two ink-leaf tablets (<a id="d56e526" href="#" class="biblio" data-key="bibC02803" data-bs-toggle="popover" data-bs-trigger="focus" data-bs-html="true" data-bs-sanitize="false" data-bs-content="<strong&gt;Tomlin, R.S.O. 2016b</strong&gt;&amp;#8194;&amp;#8194;<em&gt;Roman London&amp;#8217;s First Voices: Writing tablets from the Bloomberg excavations, 2010-14</em&gt; (MoLAS monograph, 72) (London). <a href=&#34;https://www.mola.org.uk/roman-londons-first-voices-writing-tablets-bloomberg-excavations-2010%E2%80%9314&#34; target=&#34;_blank&#34; class=&#34;extref&#34;&gt;Link to item</a&gt; <a href=&#34;https://www.zotero.org/groups/2148684/items/FI2Q4IXN&#34; target=&#34;_blank&#34; class=&#34;extref&#34;&gt;Link to Zotero</a&gt;" tabindex="32">Chapter 5</a>) are illustrated by post-conservation infra-red (<a href="/inscriptions/TabLondBloomberg184">&lt;WT184&gt;</a>) or pre-conservation (<a href="/inscriptions/TabLondBloomberg185">&lt;WT185&gt;</a>) photographs only, since the method of reading them is different.</p> </div> </div> </section> </div> </div> </div> </div> <!-- #main-content .row .main-content .justify-content-center --> <div class="row page-footer justify-content-center"> <div class="col-md-10 generated"> <p>Page generated: 2022-10-01 21:25:52 Z</p> </div> <div class="col-md-6"> <p><a href="#" data-bs-toggle="modal" data-bs-target="#rptErrModal"><i class="fa fa-exclamation-triangle"></i> Report an error</a> | <a href="/lod/"><i class="fa fa-code-branch"></i> Linked Data</a></p> </div> <div class="col-md-4 social"> <p>Share on <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fromaninscriptionsofbritain.org%2Ftablondbloomberg%2FTLB-Chapter-1" class="twitter-button" target="_blank"><i class="fab fa-twitter-square fa-2x"></i></a> &nbsp;<button class="social copyme js-copy-link-btn" id="copyLinkBtn"><i class="fas fa-link"></i></button> </div> </div> <div class="row footer justify-content-center"> <footer> <div class="col-md-12"> <p>&copy; 2014-2024 - <a href="/about/terms-of-use">Terms of Use</a> - <a href="/about/privacy-cookies">Privacy &amp; Cookie policy</a></p> </div> <div class="cookies-box hide" id="cookie-disclaimer"> <p>We use cookies to track usage and preferences.</p> <p><button class="button closeme center" aria-label="Dismiss alert" type="button">Accept</button></p> <p><a href="/about/privacy-cookies">Privacy &amp; Cookie Policy</a></p> <button class="close-button" aria-label="Dismiss alert" type="button">Close <span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span></button> </div> </footer> </div> </div> <!-- .container-fluid --> <!-- Report an error modal --> <div class="modal fade" id="rptErrModal" tabindex="-1" role="dialog" aria-labelledby="myModalLabel" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="modal-dialog modal-xl"> <div class="modal-content"> <div class="modal-header"> <h4 class="modal-title" id="myModalLabel">Report an error</h4> <button type="button" class="close" data-bs-dismiss="modal"><span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span><span class="sr-only">Close</span></button> </div> <div id="emailDlgBody" class="modal-body"> <form class="form-horizontal" method="post" id="rptErrForm" name="rptErrForm" action="/contactsubmit.php" onsubmit="javascript:contactSubmit('rptErrForm');return false;"> <input name="subject" value="Error Report" type="hidden"> <input name="mode" value="modal" type="hidden"> <input name="source" value="https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/tablondbloomberg/TLB-Chapter-1" type="hidden"> <p>Have you found a typo, mistake, or other error on this page? 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