The Epigraphic Database Clauss-Slaby (EDCS) is the largest and most widely used international database of Roman inscriptions. With currently 542,225 recorded inscriptions and 170,207 drawings and photographs, it offers a digital research infrastructure that is unique in scope, depth, and accessibility within the field of epigraphy. For Classical Studies, as well as for research-oriented university teaching, the EDCS has become an indispensable tool and shapes epigraphic scholarship worldwide.

Since 2024, the EDCS has been undergoing a transition to a new, future-proof software framework at the University of Zurich in order to ensure its availability for decades to come. Under the direction of Prof. Dr. Anne Kolb, the database is being fundamentally renewed in both technical and structural terms to guarantee long-term stability, sustainability, and expandability. This modernization lays the groundwork for new functions and stronger networking with other digital resources, which will be implemented gradually and with the greatest scholarly care. At the same time, the technical transition is time-consuming and costly; we therefore ask for your understanding if, during the initial phase, certain features—such as links to other databases—are only available to a limited extent. The goal is to implement these step by step while preserving the database’s proven functions as fully as possible.

The EDCS is deliberately designed as a search engine and does not replace a critical edition. The inscription texts presented generally follow the most recent convincing reading and are occasionally supplemented by our own corrections. Users are explicitly encouraged to verify their research results against the cited editions or by consulting the numerous drawings and photographs.

Roman inscriptions offer unique insights, including into lives beyond the political and social elites—especially in the provinces of the Roman Empire. They are therefore central sources for questions of everyday and cultural history, providing information on family life, religion, professions, administration, the military, social mobility, cultural identities, and many other aspects of the ancient world. Their scholarly value emerges above all through the comparison of large numbers of texts, which the EDCS enables on an unprecedented scale.

The EDCS thrives on the commitment of the scholarly community. To ensure that the database remains current and comprehensive, we rely on your support and are very grateful if you send us PDFs of your publications as well as photographs of the relevant monuments, which we will carefully incorporate into the database by hand. Every contribution helps to continuously improve the database and enhance its scholarly value, while also making your publications known to thousands of users.

Despite the greatest care, minor errors or simple typographical mistakes can never be entirely ruled out. We therefore gratefully accept notifications of inconsistencies and will correct them after review. We ask for your understanding that new entries and corrections may sometimes take a little time due to limited financial—and thus personnel—resources.

The EDCS was founded in 1985 by Prof. Dr. Dr. Manfred Clauss and Dr. Wolfgang Slaby and expanded with the assistance of Barbara Woitas and Dr. Bernward Tewes. Thanks to their foresight, perseverance, and extraordinary productivity, a large proportion of the known Latin inscriptions of the Roman world is now digitally accessible, and the database has been freely available from the very beginning. In doing so, they created a flagship project of Digital Classics that enjoys the highest international recognition today. Since 2014, the chair of Prof. Dr. Anne Kolb has been closely involved in the project and has played a decisive role in shaping its strategic development. This made it possible to lay the foundations for transferring the database from Eichstätt to Zurich and for continuing this indispensable research tool.

Our heartfelt thanks go to all those who have supported the EDCS over many years—some for decades—with technical assistance, scholarly advice, photographs, or publications. We kindly ask you to continue doing so in the future. Your commitment ensures that the EDCS continues to grow as an outstanding and internationally respected resource for the study of the Roman world and remains available to everyone interested in antiquity.

edcs@hist.uzh.ch