With good reason, the classical world has been defined by some as the 'civilisation de l'epigraphic'. As a predominant means of mass communication, ancient epigraphy performed a significant social role, which called for prominent public display and unambiguous legibility, exemplified by the large, inscribed bronze tablets posted in Rome and reproduced for the fora of the far-reaching empire, which recorded the decrees issued by the highest legislative body (figure 1). A study of early epigraphy that also embraces examples of less political importance reveals an intent to identify the inscribed monument or object, if not directly relate to it one or more persons, historical events, etc. The ancients imbued these inscriptions with a sense of immediacy, not only by virtue of their visual salience, but also through their standard use of language, including accepted abbreviations, in order to convey meaning without imposing the burden of interpretation upon the reader. Over time, form became an index of content, as the design of monuments followed recognizable typologies, and the inscribed texts of these monuments established strong associations with the latter's raisons d'ilre. A fundamental characteristic of ancient epigraphy is thus its inseparability from the object in which it was inscribed, for without this physical connection, these inscriptions would lose, and indeed to the frustration of many scholars have irretrievably lost, all evidence for the very impetus that occasioned their coming into existence.