Dr Ulrike Ehmig, Berlin–Brandenburg Academy of Sciences ‘New in the Old: What There is Still to Discover in the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum after 170 Years’
The establishment of the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL) at the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin in 1853 paved the way for the systematic study of ancient Latin inscriptions. The archival materials in the Berlin office are not merely a reflection of what was presented in the well-known CIL editions in the following decades. Rather, they provide an insight into how, 150 years ago, an approach was made to a source genre that until then had not been indexed according to systematic criteria and how the large number of ancient inscriptions was handled. At the same time, they show to what extent desiderata in epigraphic research were created with the work of the CIL as well as what information was available but did not come to print. The archival material of the CIL is thus a source of manifold perspectives for a future study of Latin inscriptions.
Source for images: the archives of the CIL.
About Classics and Ancient History Seminars
The seminars of UQ's Discipline of Classics and Ancient History are held on Fridays at 4 pm.
Their format is in person and live on online.
The physical venue for all seminars is room E302 of the historic Forgan-Smith Building (building no. 1) on UQ's St Lucia campus in Brisbane.
For the online link please contact the seminar convenor Associate Professor David M. Pritchard (d.pritchard@uq.edu.au).
Seminars 2-3 and 6-7 will be recorded for subsequent publication as open-access podcasts.
Professor Maria Wyke (Seminar 2) is the 2026 Visiting Professor of UQ's Centre for Western Civilisation.
Dr Roslyne Bell comes to Brisbane as a guest of UQ's Friends of Antiquity. She will be delivering the keynote address at the 2026 Ancient History Day on Saturday 21 March.