A Roman lead pipe inscription is a Latininscription on a Romanwater pipe made of lead which provides brief information on its manufacturer and owner, often the reigning emperor himself as the supreme authority. The identification marks were created by full text stamps.[2]
Water pipe with Latin inscription from the reign of Vespasian. The text is unusual for being sunk into the surface and its sizable length of 1 m.[1]
Lead, a by-product of the ancient silver smelting process, was produced in the Roman Empire with an estimated peak production of 80,000 metric tons per year – a truly industrial scale.[3] The metal was used along with other materials in the vast water supply network of the Romans for the manufacture of water pipes, particularly for urban plumbing.[4]
The method of manufacturing the lead pipes is recorded by Vitruvius and Frontinus.[5] The lead was poured into sheets of a uniform 3 m (10 ft) length, which were bent to form a cylinder and soldered at the seam.[6] The lead pipes could range in size from approximately 1.3 to 57 cm (0.5 to 22.4 in) in diameter, depending on the required rate of flow.[7]
Creation of inscriptionsedit
Since the 19th century, the hypothesis has occasionally been put forward that the Roman inscriptions were created by movable type printing.[8] A recent investigation by the typesetter and linguist Herbert Brekle, however, concludes that all material evidence points to the use of common text stamps.[9] Brekle describes the manufacturing method as follows:
A stamp (punch) which has the text carved in high-relief and in right reading is pressed into the slightly moist sand or clay of the mould, thus producing a reverse image of the text (matrix) in bas-relief. After the molten lead is poured out in the mould, the inscription appears raised in high-relief on the surface of the lead pipe. This is today considered the most plausible hypothesis for the creation of such inscriptions (full text stamp).[10]
Brekle lists the following reasons for the employment of stamps and against that of movable type: for printing on lead sheets the way the Romans created them, it would be much more practical to use single stamp blocks than sets of individual letters, since the latter would be unstable and would have required a clamp or some similar mechanism to maintain the necessary cohesion.[11] Neither impressions of such clamps nor of the fine lines between the individual letters typical for the use of movable type are discernible in the inscriptions.[12] By contrast, the outer rim of one examined stamp block left a raised rectangular edge running around the inscription text, thus providing positive evidence for the use of such a printing device.[13]
In addition, evidence of the poor positioning of movable type, such as individual letters tilting to the right or left or deviating from the baseline – something which could have been expected to occur at least in a few extant specimens – is notably absent.[12] In those inscriptions where the letters are not properly aligned, the entire text is blurred, which clearly points to the use of full text stamps.[14] Finally, it needs to be considered that archaeological excavations have never unearthed ancient sets of movable type, whereas moulds with reversed inscription texts for stamp printing have indeed been recovered.[15]
On balance, material evidence, practical and economical considerations, as well as the available data, clearly support the notion that text stamps were employed.
Brekle, Herbert E. (2010), "Herstellungstechniken von Inschriften auf römischen Wasserleitungsrohren aus Blei", in Hanneforth, Thomas; Fanselow, Gisbert (eds.), Language and Logos. Studies in Theoretical and Computational Linguistics, studia grammatica, vol. 72, Berlin: Akademie Verlag, pp. 419–437, ISBN978-3-05-004931-1
Grewe, Klaus (1985), Planung und Trassierung römischer Wasserleitungen, Wiesbaden: Chmielorz, ISBN3-87124-025-7
Hodge, A. Trevor (1992), Roman Aqueducts & Water Supply, London: Duckworth, ISBN0-7156-2194-7
Hong, Sungmin; Candelone, Jean-Pierre; Patterson, Clair C.; Boutron, Claude F. (1994), "Greenland Ice Evidence of Hemispheric Lead Pollution Two Millennia Ago by Greek and Roman Civilizations", Science, 265 (5180): 1841–1843, Bibcode:1994Sci...265.1841H, doi:10.1126/science.265.5180.1841, PMID 17797222, S2CID 45080402
Lanciani, R.: "Topografia di Roma antica. I commentarii di Frontino intorno le acque e gli acquedotti. Silloge epigrafica aquaria", in: Memorie della Reale Accademia dei Lincei, Serie III, Volume IV, Classe di Scienze Morali, Rom 1881 (Reprint: Quasar publishing house, 1975), pp. 215–616
Pace, Pietrantonio (1986), Gli acquedotti di Roma e il Aquaeductu di Frontino (2nd ed.), Rome: Art Studio S. Eligio
External linksedit
Media related to Roman lead pipe inscriptions at Wikimedia Commons
April 10, 2024
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A Roman lead pipe inscription is a Latin inscription on a Roman water pipe made of lead which provides brief information on its manufacturer and owner often the reigning emperor himself as the supreme authority The identification marks were created by full text stamps 2 Water pipe with Latin inscription from the reign of Vespasian The text is unusual for being sunk into the surface and its sizable length of 1 m 1 Contents 1 Manufacture of pipes 2 Creation of inscriptions 3 See also 4 References 5 Sources 6 External linksManufacture of pipes edit nbsp Uninscribed lead pipe with a folded seam at the Roman thermae of Bath EnglandLead a by product of the ancient silver smelting process was produced in the Roman Empire with an estimated peak production of 80 000 metric tons per year a truly industrial scale 3 The metal was used along with other materials in the vast water supply network of the Romans for the manufacture of water pipes particularly for urban plumbing 4 The method of manufacturing the lead pipes is recorded by Vitruvius and Frontinus 5 The lead was poured into sheets of a uniform 3 m 10 ft length which were bent to form a cylinder and soldered at the seam 6 The lead pipes could range in size from approximately 1 3 to 57 cm 0 5 to 22 4 in in diameter depending on the required rate of flow 7 Creation of inscriptions editSince the 19th century the hypothesis has occasionally been put forward that the Roman inscriptions were created by movable type printing 8 A recent investigation by the typesetter and linguist Herbert Brekle however concludes that all material evidence points to the use of common text stamps 9 Brekle describes the manufacturing method as follows A stamp punch which has the text carved in high relief and in right reading is pressed into the slightly moist sand or clay of the mould thus producing a reverse image of the text matrix in bas relief After the molten lead is poured out in the mould the inscription appears raised in high relief on the surface of the lead pipe This is today considered the most plausible hypothesis for the creation of such inscriptions full text stamp 10 nbsp Lead pipe stamp of the Legio XIV GeminaBrekle lists the following reasons for the employment of stamps and against that of movable type for printing on lead sheets the way the Romans created them it would be much more practical to use single stamp blocks than sets of individual letters since the latter would be unstable and would have required a clamp or some similar mechanism to maintain the necessary cohesion 11 Neither impressions of such clamps nor of the fine lines between the individual letters typical for the use of movable type are discernible in the inscriptions 12 By contrast the outer rim of one examined stamp block left a raised rectangular edge running around the inscription text thus providing positive evidence for the use of such a printing device 13 In addition evidence of the poor positioning of movable type such as individual letters tilting to the right or left or deviating from the baseline something which could have been expected to occur at least in a few extant specimens is notably absent 12 In those inscriptions where the letters are not properly aligned the entire text is blurred which clearly points to the use of full text stamps 14 Finally it needs to be considered that archaeological excavations have never unearthed ancient sets of movable type whereas moulds with reversed inscription texts for stamp printing have indeed been recovered 15 See also editPlumbing Roman aqueductReferences edit Brekle 2010 pp 433f Brekle 2010 pp 419f 436 Hong et al 1994 p 1841 Grewe 1985 p 59 Hodge 1992 p 307 Hodge 1992 p 309 Hodge 1992 pp 309 314 Hodge 1992 p 297 table 209 Lanciani 1881 p 416 Pace 1986 p 78 Brekle 2010 p 436 On balance material evidence practical and economical considerations as well as the available data clearly support the notion that text stamps were employed Brekle 2010 p 419 Brekle 2010 p 420 a b Brekle 2010 p 431 Brekle 2010 p 435 Brekle 2010 pp 431f Brekle 2010 p 426Sources editBrekle Herbert E 2010 Herstellungstechniken von Inschriften auf romischen Wasserleitungsrohren aus Blei in Hanneforth Thomas Fanselow Gisbert eds Language and Logos Studies in Theoretical and Computational Linguistics studia grammatica vol 72 Berlin Akademie Verlag pp 419 437 ISBN 978 3 05 004931 1 Grewe Klaus 1985 Planung und Trassierung romischer Wasserleitungen Wiesbaden Chmielorz ISBN 3 87124 025 7 Hodge A Trevor 1992 Roman Aqueducts amp Water Supply London Duckworth ISBN 0 7156 2194 7 Hong Sungmin Candelone Jean Pierre Patterson Clair C Boutron Claude F 1994 Greenland Ice Evidence of Hemispheric Lead Pollution Two Millennia Ago by Greek and Roman Civilizations Science 265 5180 1841 1843 Bibcode 1994Sci 265 1841H doi 10 1126 science 265 5180 1841 PMID 17797222 S2CID 45080402 Lanciani R Topografia di Roma antica I commentarii di Frontino intorno le acque e gli acquedotti Silloge epigrafica aquaria in Memorie della Reale Accademia dei Lincei Serie III Volume IV Classe di Scienze Morali Rom 1881 Reprint Quasar publishing house 1975 pp 215 616 Pace Pietrantonio 1986 Gli acquedotti di Roma e il Aquaeductu di Frontino 2nd ed Rome Art Studio S EligioExternal links edit nbsp Media related to Roman lead pipe inscriptions at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Roman lead pipe inscription amp oldid 1192017705, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
