Author Description

Letters and comic graffiti, declarations of taxes and of love, alphabet exercises and short poems, protocols and petitions, advertisements and election campaigns, events and banquet toasts, owner's marks and magical incantations--all these have been preserved on various archaeological objects. The study of these writings, which provide evidence from many sources for the real life of the ancient world, requires the collaboration of different areas of scholarship, including ancient history, archaeology, philology, and engineering. This conference volume offers an overview of ancient education and the technique of writing, mixed with a good amount of ancient humor.