Attic Building Accounts (Classic Reprint) - Hardcover

William Bell Dinsmoor

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0331292149 ISBN 13: 9780331292145

Publisher: Forgotten Books, 2018

Synopsis

Unraveling ancient ledgers from the Parthenon, this study reconstructs building accounts from fragments and inscriptions.

This scholarly work surveys the epigraphic fragments of the Attic building accounts, tracing how a two-part stele preserved yearly records of expenses, receipts, and work. It details the process of reassembling columns and dates from seventeen authentic pieces, including newly discovered fragments, and explains how researchers determine which faces show the obverse or reverse inscriptions. The narrative follows different readings by scholars and shows how recent restorations clarified the sequence of prytanies, the number of columns, and the overall layout of the accounts. It also discusses practical issues like anathyrosis joints and how two stelae were used to continue the record when accounts grew longer than a single slab could hold.

• How the stele was laid out: the number of columns, the direction of writing, and how accounts span multiple prytanies.
• How scholars identify obverse and reverse surfaces and what that means for dating and ordering the entries.
• The role of new fragments in refining the restoration and the sequence of events at the construction site.
• The practical challenges of aligning fragmentary texts, including notes on handwriting, measurements, and weathering.

Ideal for readers with an interest in classics, archaeology, and epigraphy, this edition offers a precise look at how ancient building records are recovered and interpreted from surviving stone.

Edition details

• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0331292149
• ISBN 13: 9780331292145
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 112