inscriptions
Text etched permanently
Inscriptions are words carved, engraved, or written on a surface—typically stone, metal, or the opening pages of a book.
Ancient inscriptions on monuments and tombs provide historical records.
A book inscription is a handwritten message from the giver: The inscription read "To my daughter on her graduation".
The word covers both the act of inscribing and what results from it.
Edged carving implement
- bas-reliefSculpture projecting slightly
- friezeOrnamental architectural band
- reliefEasing of distress
- stonecutterOne who shapes rock
mason · engraved · glyphs · limestone · granite · marble · alabaster · incised
Symbolic picture-based writing
- cuneiformStylus-impressed ancient script
- RosettaTrilingual Egyptian artifact
- steleInscribed memorial pillar
- tabletsFlat portable computing devices
Sumerian · Phoenician · Akkadian · Babylonian · Egyptian · Greek · Latin · epigraphy
Text honoring the deceased
- plaqueInscribed memorial tablet
- cenotaphTomb without a body
- tombstoneMemorial stone at grave
- monumentStructure honoring someone remembered
mausoleum · obelisk · dedication · commemorate · tribute · remembrance · engraved · headstone
Fired clay objects
- ceramicsHardened clay objects
- amuletWorn protective token
- sealAuthentication stamp or mark
- coinStamped metal currency
medallion · signet · tablet · amphora · shard · reliquary · sarcophagus · urn
Ancient plant-derived writing material
- parchmentTreated hide for manuscripts
- scrollsRolled written records
- codexAncient bound manuscript
- vellumPrepared calfskin for writing
palimpsest · quill · paleography · illuminated · marginalia · colophon · rubric · copyist
Styled written characters
- handwritingManual letter formation
- cursiveJoined handwriting style
- uncialRounded ancient letterform
- CarolingianFrankish royal dynasty
blackletter · Spencerian · penmanship · flourish · brush · ink · nib · illuminated
chisel
Edged carving implement
- bas-reliefSculpture projecting slightly
- friezeOrnamental architectural band
- reliefEasing of distress
stonecutter · mason · engraved · glyphs · limestone · granite · marble · alabaster · incised · cameo
hieroglyphics
Symbolic picture-based writing
- cuneiformStylus-impressed ancient script
- RosettaTrilingual Egyptian artifact
- steleInscribed memorial pillar
tablets · Sumerian · Phoenician · Akkadian · Babylonian · Egyptian · Greek · Latin · epigraphy · pictographs
epitaph
Text honoring the deceased
monument · mausoleum · obelisk · dedication · commemorate · tribute · remembrance · engraved · headstone · gravestone
pottery
Fired clay objects
coin · medallion · signet · tablet · amphora · shard · reliquary · sarcophagus · urn · vessel
papyrus
Ancient plant-derived writing material
vellum · palimpsest · quill · paleography · illuminated · marginalia · colophon · rubric · copyist · autograph
lettering
Styled written characters
- handwritingManual letter formation
- cursiveJoined handwriting style
- uncialRounded ancient letterform
Carolingian · blackletter · Spencerian · penmanship · flourish · brush · ink · nib · illuminated · gilded
acid
Low-pH chemical compound
aquatint · drypoint · mezzotint · plate · zinc · copper · lasered · sgraffito · stippled · hatching
- cultural heritagefolklore, traditions, customs, folk music revival, museum collections
- Roman recordscensus records, tax rolls, wax tablets, papyrus scrolls, annals
- artifactspottery shards, knives, masks, pottery, antiquity
- ancient thingsruins, relics, artifacts, fossils, monuments
- historical recordsdiary, census record, annual reviews, letter, government records
- written documentsnewspaper, diary, journal, scroll, letters
inscriptionserasures
Acts of removing marks
deletions · temporary markings · ephemera · disappearing ink · obliterations
inscriptionsprintouts
Printed paper documents
printed matter · projections · typography · publications · stamps
inscriptionsoral traditions
Culture transmitted through speech
spoken words · utterances · speech · verbal communication · recitations
- royal inscriptionsMonarchs' official carved records
- ancient inscriptionsOld carved or etched writing
- Behistun inscriptionMultilingual Achaemenid rock proclamation
- magical inscriptionMystical text with power
- gravestone inscriptionsText on burial markers
- rock inscriptionsText etched in stone