Inschriften in Wohnhäusern. Band 2: Türkei und Zypern

The publication Inscriptions in Residential Buildings, Volume 2: Turkey and Cyprus deals with the significance and function of inscriptions in residential buildings of the upper classes from around the 2 nd century BC to the 7th century AD. The inscriptions in the residential buildings examined are located on the facades of the houses and in the living areas, and in some cases also in the latrines. In most cases, the height and size of the inscriptions were chosen to ensure that they were clearly visible and legible. This was important because the inscriptions were intended to reach an audience. In residential buildings, inscriptions were placed on architectural elements such as door frames, balustrades and columns, as well as on mosaic floors and wall paintings; they were also found on the bases of sculptures, which were often portrait statues and busts of the homeowners. In addition to painted dipinti, murals also feature spontaneously carved graffiti, which includes short texts and drawings. A number of these drawings are likely to have been made by children, as are alphabets, which indicate that they were being taught in the house. The inscriptions include greetings and good wishes to the inhabitants of the house, as well as apotropaic inscriptions for the protection of the inhabitants, dedications to deities and honours to the homeowners. Among the late antique inscriptions, there are particularly many invocations to the Christian God and his son Jesus Christ for the protection of the inhabitants. The text graffiti often documented shopping lists and other household expenditure records. They also expressed feelings, mainly of an erotic nature, sometimes in a humorous and mocking way. The inscriptions on mosaic floors and wall paintings name, among other things, the figures from mythological images and novels, theatre scenes, personifications, and sometimes they are also the signatures of sculptors and mosaicists. In most cases, the patrons or authors of the planned inscriptions were the homeowners. Their names appear in many inscriptions, but their wives and children were rarely mentioned alongside them. Unlike men, women are rarely identified as authors of inscriptions. Graffiti may have been written by members of the resident family (familia), which also included freedmen, freedwomen and slaves, as well as by visitors and guests. The latter included members of different social classes who frequented the house for various reasons (as clients, guests, suppliers, teachers, etc.).