Ancient documents were most commonly written on papyrus, parchment, ostraca (broken pieces of pottery), or tablets, or inscribed on stone. The field of epigraphy is the study of texts (inscriptions) written on hard surfaces, primarily stone. The field of papyrology is not covered by this Library Guide.

Epigraphical discoveries are edited and published in scholarly, annotated editions, which are usually copiously indexed and may include a translation. As an aid to research in epigraphy and in order to have access to primary texts from the ancient world, the BYU Library collects these editions.

The bibliography of epigraphy is not as systemetized as that of papyrology, but most epigraphical publication have one or more standardized abbreviations. Abbreviations in this Library Guide are keyed to the standard epigraphical abbreviations as found in ♦ Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum (SEG) and GrEpiAbbr, SEG Online, PHI, or Claros

In order to find these editions in the BYU Library, click on the dropdown arrow on the Publications tab and choose the submenu containing the abbreviation for the edition.

Individual titles can also be searched in the BYU Library catalog.

If the BYU Library does not own a needed publication, please use our Interlibrary Loan service and we will borrow a copy for you from another library.