CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM LATINARUM
Consilio et auctoritate Academiae Scientiarum Berolinensis et Brandenburgensis editum
The Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL) was founded under the direction of Theodor Mommsen in 1853. By World War I, the majority of the known Latin inscriptions of antique provenance had already been published. International recognition was accorded to the achievements first of Mommsen and then particularly of his pupils, working in collaboration with scholars from the countries where the inscriptions were found. The Corpus, edited by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Arts and Sciences, is considered to be the authoritative documentation of the epigraphic heritage of Roman antiquity. It is an indispensable tool for research on Roman life and history.
History of the CIL (in German): pdf (© BAW, Manfred G. Schmidt)
The CIL collects all Latin inscriptions from the whole territory of the former Imperium Romanum, ordering them geographically and systematically. The edition is based on the autopsy of the inscriptions, taking into account their manuscript and printed transmission. New discoveries and the corrections of inscriptions previously published are presented in new editions and supplements, so that the corpus is continually being updated and expanded. The documentation is completed with comprehensive bibliographies, information on the antique communities in which the inscriptions were discovered, comprehensive indexes of names and subjects, together with maps and town plans. The CIL is published entirely in Latin. Up to now, 17 volumes have been published in about 70 parts, containing approximately 180,000 inscriptions, complemented by 13 supplementary volumes with plates and special indexes.
Volumes available
The order of the Corpus combines systematical and geographical aspects: The first volume covers the Republican inscriptions, vol. XV the "Instrumentum domesticum" from Rome, vol. XVI the military diplomas, vol. XVII the milestones. Volume XVIII is planned to contain the "Carmina Latina Epigraphica". Volumes II to XIV are divides according to the regions where the inscriptions were found.
CIL II: Inschriften der drei Provinzen der iberischen Halbinsel: Hispania citerior, Baetica und Lusitania.
CIL III: Inschriften des östlichen Mittelmeerraumes sowie der Donauprovinzen.
CIL IV: Inschriften von Pompei, Herculaneum und Stabiae.
CIL V: Inschriften von Gallia Cisalpina, d. h. der Regionen IX ‘Liguria’, X ‘Venetia et Histria’ und XI ‘Transpadana’ sowie der Alpenprovinzen Alpes Cottiae und Alpes maritimae.
CIL VI: Stadtrömische Inschriften. Ausgegliedert sind das Instrumentum domesticum (in CIL XV) und die christlichen Inschriften (in ICVR).
CIL VII: Inschriften Britanniens.
CIL VIII: Inschriften Nordafrikas ohne Agypten und die Cyrenaica, d. h. der Provinzen Mauretaniae Tingitana, Caesariensis und Sitifensis, Numidia und Africa proconsularis.
CIL IX: Inschriften der Regionen II, IV und V, also Calabria, Apulia, Samnium, Sabiner Berge und Picenum.
CIL X: Inschriften der Regionen I und III, also Bruttii, Lucania und Campania mit Latium adiectum; im 2. Teil die Inschriften von Sizilien, Sardinien und Corsica.
CIL XI: Inschriften der Regionen VI, VII und VIII, also Umbria, Etruria und Aemilia.
CIL XII: Inschriften der Provincia Narbonensis, Alpes Graiae et Poeninae, sowie der westlichen Teile von Alpes Cottiae und Alpes maritimae (s. CIL V).
CIL XIII: Inschriften der III Galliae (Aquitania, Lugdunensis und Belgica) sowie der beiden germanischen Provinzen.
CIL XIV: Inschriften aus Latium vetus, wobei sich zahlreiche Überschneidungen mit CIL VI ergeben, sowie in den Supplementbänden v. a. Inschriften aus Ostia.