Several scripts and languages were in use on Cyprus during the first millennium B.C. and into the Roman Imperial period. The Eteo-Cypriot language (undeciphered) was written in Cypriot Syllabic, a script which seems to have developed directly from the indigenous writing system in use during the Late Bronze Age. The same signary was also used in the early historical period to write Greek; by the end of the third century B.C., Greek alphabetic writing had almost completely supplanted the native script. Phoenician, Roman and Egyptian inscriptions also appear in the Cypriot archaeological record.

Specialized studies which focus on the occurrence of certain of these scripts/languages on Cyprus¹ or, more usually, at a particular site on the island of Cyprus have been published. There is, however, little discussion of the overall patterns of script/language use, so it is difficult for anyone who is not familiar with the Cypriot bibliography to make clear sense of the chronological, regional, or functional bounds for the use of specific scripts on Cyprus.²

In a recent article³ T.G. Palaima commented on the results of a preliminary study of the use and interaction of two scripts, Cypriot Syllabic and Greek, on Cyprus. His work made clear both the necessity of studying each particular script within the context of the entire assemblage of written documents and the difficulty of establishing such a context from the scattered publications for the island of Cyprus. In response to that difficulty, a data base of inscriptions from Cyprus is being compiled under the auspices of the Program in Aegean Scripts and Prehistory (PASP) at the University of Texas at Austin. Our aim is twofold: (1) to establish a complete record of inscriptions in all languages and in all media from the island of Cyprus (through the Roman period), and (2) to make this record readily accessible to all interested scholars. In order to accomplish the first goal, we encourage anyone who has worked with this material to supplement or correct the information thus far compiled. We also invite scholars with specialized interests to join us in extending the range of information incorporated into the database.⁴ Second, computerized versions of the database are being made available in two formats: on the internet and as diskettes which may be obtained through PASP.⁵ These versions will, of course, allow the user to make optimal use of the information stored in the database since inscriptions can be easily selected or sorted according to the specific criteria set by the researcher. Updates and new installations will be incorporated into these versions of the database periodically.

We present here a searchable online version of the information thus far entered into the PASP data base. In the printed version of the database, entries are presented alphabetically according to region, and by site within each region.⁶ Part I lists all Cypro-Minoan, Eteo-Cypriot, and Cypriot Syllabic inscriptions found on the island of Cyprus. It does not, however, include isolated single signs. Part II lists the Cypriot Syllabic inscriptions found outside of the island of Cyprus. Although technically outside the bounds of a study of scripts used on the island, a clear understanding of when and how the Cypriot script was employed elsewhere is certainly important and relevant to forming an understanding of the dynamics of languages and scripts on Cyprus. Part III catalogues the Greek inscriptions found on the island. Inscriptions dated later than the fourth century A.D. are not included in this section of the database, nor are amphora stamps, jewelry, coins and graffiti in the Greek script, and inscriptions appearing in the decoration of imported (Athenian) vases. Single signs of any kind are also omitted. Other information which will eventually be incorporated into this data base are Phoenician,⁷ Roman, and inscriptions in other languages (Egyptian and Ugaritic, for example), amphora stamps, seals and sealings, and the numismatic evidence.

The information below is as complete as we can make it from the sources available to us.⁸ We are publishing it now as a timely and much-needed resource for scholars interested in the study of writing and literacy on the island of Cyprus. We hope that you will join us in this endeavor to provide the basis for a clear understanding of the development of scripts, languages and cultures on the island of Cyprus, which since the Bronze Age has played a crucial role as a link between east and west.

NICOLLE HIRSCHFELD

Austin TX 78712-1181 USA
University of Texas at Austin
Program in Aegean Scripts and Prehistory
Department of Classics WAG 123

*I thank Leah Himmelhoch and Bruce LaForse for their assistance. The data base presented here is connected with my ongoing study of Cypro-Minoan pot marks and their relationship to trade and the formal scripts of the prehistoric and historical periods on Cyprus. The original impetus for this data base was T.G. Palaima's interest (see n. 2 below) in the applications of alphabetic script on Cyprus. Leah Himmelhoch made a rough start in the form of a preliminary catalogue of entries in such standard publications as ICS and SEG. Bruce LaForse corrected some duplications in this first stage. Funding for publication has been generously provided by the Institute for Aegean Prehistory (INSTAP). I thank Tom Palaima for the opportunities which PASP continues to provide to students of the ancient Aegean and Mediterranean scripts. To Kevin Pluta goes all the credit for setting up this website version of the database. Back
¹ For example, O. Masson, Les Inscriptions Chypriotes Syllabiques: Recueil, Critique et Commenté, Paris 1983; J. Karageorghis & O. Masson, eds., The History of the Greek Language in Cyprus, Nicosia 1988; O. Masson & M. Sznycer, Recherches sur les Phéniciens à Chypre, Paris 1972; T.G. Palaima, "Cypro-Minoan Scripts: Problems of Historical Context," in Y. Duhoux, T.G. Palaima, J. Bennet, eds., Problems in Decipherment, Louvain-la-Neuve 1989, pp. 121-188; G.B. Bazemore, "The Geographic Distribution of the Cypriote Syllabic Inscriptions," in R. Åström, ed., Acta Cypria, Jonsered, 1992, part 3, pp.63-96. Back
² This state of affairs is beginning to change; see, in particular, G.B. Bazemore, "The Use of Writing in Ancient Society: The Cypriote Syllabic Inscriptions," Diss. (U. of Chicago, forthcoming 1997), and J. Smith, "Seals for Sealing in the Late Cypriot Period," Diss. (Bryn Mawr College 1994). Back
³ T.G. Palaima, "The Advent of the Greek Alphabet on Cyprus: A Competition of Scripts," in Cl. Baurain, C. Bonnet, and V. Krings, eds., Phoinikeia Grammata: Lire et écrire en Méditerranée, Namur 1991, pp. 449-472; also, A.-M. Collombier, "Écritures et sociétés à Chypre à l'Age du Fer," in the same volume, pp. 425-448. Back
⁴ We need help with the following areas: Latin, Phoenician, Egyptian, numismatics, amphora stamps, inscriptions and graffiti on lamps, tiles, post-Bronze Age potmarks, and mason's marks. Back
⁵ In the form of a diskette, written in MacIntosh File Maker Pro, with a minimal charge for the diskette and mailing. Please send inquiries to Nicolle Hirschfeld c/o PASP. Back
⁶ This ordering has been chosen for the printed version of the database because Cypriot inscriptions are usually published by site; thus this arrangement is the easiest way to check for duplications/omissions in the data. Of course, the database can easily be sorted by any of the other defined fields: type, date, nature, material or publication. Back
⁷ Appendix 3 (pp.205-14) in M. Given's unpublished Ph.D. thesis, "Symbols, power, and the construction of identity in the city-kingdoms of ancient Cyprus c.750-312 B.C." (Cambridge University, 1991), provides a current summary of the Phoenician inscriptions. Back
⁸ We were unable to obtain and incorporate the relatively limited unique information from the following references before the manuscript was submitted for publication:
Colonna-Ceccaldi, Monuments de Chypre, 1882.
Ross, Arch. Zeitung 3 (1845) = Arch. Aufsätze 2 (1861).
Ross, Rheinisches Museum 7 (1850) 516ff.
A. Sakellarios, Ta Kypriaka, Athens, 1845 & 1890.
E. Schwyzer, Dialectorum Graecarum exempla epigraphica potiora, Leipzig 1923.
K. Vidua, Inscriptiones Antiquae.
Information from these publications will be incorporated into the database as we receive the books. Also, forthcoming publications and corrections/notifications from colleagues will be added as we obtain them. Please feel free to consult us for updates. Back

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