ESR 2 The Carmina Latina Epigraphica of Carthage. Edition, Translation, and Commentary

Michele Butini

Objectives
The project will document and edit verse inscriptions with their material surface from the roman city of Carthage and its surroundings to provide a first up-to-date account of the poetic landscape of this area. It shall complete and refine the existing editorial work that is excellent in the case of many inscriptions but has to be revised according to new methodologies.

The corpus, which will include only the inscriptions that preserve at least one verse of poetry, will be the subject of a rigorous critical edition, based on the autopsy of the texts where possible, on photos and other archive material. For some of them, issues related to their literary or metric nature will be discussed for the first time. The analysis will focus mainly on cultural and literary influences, and the relationship with the Carmina Latina Epigraphica of other regions in the Roman Empire; but it will also consider linguistical and prosodical aspects, all in order to understand something about who is behind the composition of these texts. Partner institutions of CARMEN in Tunis and colleagues working in this region will hopefully help the ESR to master this challenge.

Expected Results
A doctoral thesis on the objectives mentioned above to build up a general expertise in Roman cultural heritage in North Africa and Latin philology, and professional skills in digital editing.