I.—Inscriptions

Abstract

The authors' aim is to include in this article all the inscriptions on minor votive objects found at Sparta during the excavations, by the British School, of the Sanctuaries of Orthia (in 1906–10) and of Athena Chalkioikos (in 1907–08). They have been arranged according to material, those from each of these two sites being described separately, in the following order: stone, metal, ivory, pottery.A few of these inscriptions, which have been published already in the Annual and subsequently in the Laconian volume of the Corpus (I.G. v. 1), are re-published here, without facsimiles, for the sake of completeness. Mr. Woodward made copies of almost all these inscriptions in 1907–08, but never completed the material for publication, owing to the claims of other work. Mr. Hondius, in 1921, re-copied and took impressions of all those inscribed on the carvings in soft stone, except Nos. 20 and 21, and with these exceptions his drawings of the unpublished examples are here reproduced. When Mr. Woodward's reading differs from his, the two versions are given. The inscriptions on the ivory flutes (Nos. 26, 27) are from Mr. Hondius's copies, as are Nos. 66 and 69 of those on the bronze objects; Mr. Woodward is responsible for those on Nos. 24, 67, 68 of the same material, which seem to have escaped Mr. Hondius's notice, and for all those on the pottery fragments from both the sites.