Supplementum CrEticum: New Inscriptions from Crete.

Project Information

SCENIC

Grant agreement ID: 101149584

DOI

10.3030/101149584

EC signature date 12 May 2024

Start date 1 June 2024

End date 30 June 2027

Funded under

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 308 868,16

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI FOGGIA
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SCENIC (Supplementum CrEticum: New Inscriptions from Crete.)

Reporting period: 2024-06-01 to 2026-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The project SCENIC aims to complete and update Margherita Guarducci’s Inscriptiones Creticae [I.Cret.] I–IV (Rome, 1935-1950). This work currently lacks both a fifth volume containing inscriptions from unknown findspots or unlocated poleis (I.Cret. V) and a supplement covering inscriptions discovered over the past 70–90 years.
The planned Supplementum Creticum [Suppl.Cret.] aims, for the first time, to collect the inscriptions from unknown findspots or unlocated poleis (I.Cret. V), as well as inscriptions discovered after the publication of I.Cret. focusing on the area west of the Knossos – Phaistos axis. East of this axis lie Lyktos and Gortyna, the two most epigraphically productive poleis in Crete, and two projects are currently dedicated to the study of their inscriptions. The Lyktos Archaeological Project was launched in 2021 under the direction of Angelos Chaniotis and Antonis Kotsonas. An update of I.Cret. IV (Tituli Gortynii, 1950) is not needed, as it would overlap with the project Il paesaggio epigrafico di Gortyna, directed by Fabrizio Oppedisano, Anna Magnetto and Ignazio Tantillo.
Alongside stone inscriptions, the project will also examine mosaics, graffiti, bronze tablets, and gold lamellae. Whereas Guarducci, following some older volumes of Inscriptiones Graecae [IG], considered all inscriptions, regardless of the material support on which they are engraved or painted, the new tendency of the IG to exclude not only Latin inscriptions, but also those written on ceramics and lead. This approach would make the SCENIC project more feasible, given the large number of ceramic and lead inscriptions, including painted pottery, instrumentum domesticum (e.g. loom weights), and instrumentum publicum (e.g. lead pipes). The findspots of inscribed ceramics are often unknown or distant from their places of production due to ancient trade.
The epigraphical reports consist of the classical scholarly work of collecting the bibliography of each edited inscription, creating an apparatus criticus, and producing the final edition of the text, which may include new readings or exegeses. Images of the inscriptions require specific authorization. Study permits allow scholars to study, photograph, publish, and sometimes make squeezes of inscriptions. Ideally, each inscription in the Suppl. Cret. would have a photograph, but this would require hundreds of permits, even for previously published images. Priority will therefore be given to inscriptions without existing images in scientific publications. Many inscriptions have been lost, with only their texts preserved, making published images unavailable.
Edited and unedited inscriptions of the Suppl.Cret. require different management. New epigraphic discoveries generally appear in scientific journals. Some monographs also focus on inscriptions from specific Cretan locations, such as the Asklepieion of Lissos or Polyrrhenia. Collecting published inscriptions is facilitated by tools such as Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum [SEG], Bulletin épigraphique [Bull.ép.], and Trismegistos. The publication of unedited inscriptions that are not under active study is the most challenging aspect. Obtaining publication rights from Ephorates of Antiquities or museums can take up to a year. Regular contact with these institutions is essential for securing permission to publish unedited inscriptions, while networking can also provide early knowledge of newly discovered inscriptions. However, obtaining permission to publish them may still take up to a year. Consequently, it has only been possible to focus on unedited inscriptions from Western Crete. The Suppl.Cret. number assigned to both edited and unedited inscriptions from Crete could serve as a widely recognized persistent identifier within the scholarly community. For edited inscriptions, this would correspond to the number already assigned by Trismegistos. The results could be regularly updated, and such a platform would attract the attention not only of scholars but also of a non-specialist public. An English translation will therefore be provided in the open-access digital edition.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the outgoing phase at the University of Bern, it was possible to collect and prepare draft records of the inscriptions from Western Crete. The identification of a significant number of previously unedited inscriptions from the prefecture of Chania, as well as the autoptic examination of problematic inscriptions, was undertaken during the research stays in Crete. The secondments in Crete were instrumental in consolidating the corpus of inscriptions from Western and Central Crete.
The autoptic analysis resulted in new readings and documentation to be incorporated into the Suppl.Cret. The PI collaborated with two archaeologists at the Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania: Euthymia Kataki, on an article concerning the epigraphic corpus of Keraia, which includes three previously unedited inscriptions (see below: the funerary stelae of Sosos, Onaso, and Eukrines), and Katerina Tzanakakis, on an article concerning the dedication of Sosos from Kydonia (see below). Despite the successful identification of some unpublished inscriptions, it remains impossible to predict whether additional unpublished inscriptions will be discovered or whether permission to publish them will be granted. The PI has found that the number of unpublished inscriptions is considerably higher than initially estimated. However, obtaining publication rights is a lengthy process, typically requiring almost a year for approval. To date, publication rights have been obtained for six unpublished inscriptions from Western Crete (Byzantine Museum of Chania, inv. no. 5 [byzantine inscription from Kydonia]; Archaeological Museum of Chania, inv. no. E 84 [funerary stele of Sosos]; E 120 [the dedication of Sosos]; E 262 [funerary stele of Barios]; E 300 [funerary stele of Onaso]; and the funerary stele of Eukrines from Zourva, without inv. no.). The permit to publish the funerary inscription of the diakonos Anastasios (Byzantine Museum of Chania, inv. no. 8) has also been requested, but has not yet been granted.
It should, however, be noted that access to the unedited inscriptions held by the other three Ephorates of Antiquities in Rethymno, Heraklion, and Lasithi (Agios Nikolaos) has not yet been obtained. The inscriptions from Central and Eastern Crete, together with those from unknown find spots or unlocated poleis, have been fully collected, although the preparation of their records has not yet been undertaken. Records have, however, already been prepared for the inscriptions from the following sites: Phaistos, Kommos, Lebena, Lasaia, and Matala. Several problematic inscriptions have been examined through direct autoptic analysis of the squeezes, including those preserved at the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The PI organised the international conference “Greek Inscriptions from Crete” (University of Bern, 09–10/02/2026). The results of this conference go beyond the current state of the art so that the conference proceedings have been accepted for publication in the prestigious series Heidelberger Althistorische Beiträge und Epigraphische Studien (Stuttgart, F. Steiner). It will also feature results from the international workshop “Greek and Latin Inscriptions from Crete” (University of Foggia, 14–15/04/2025).