Antique Letters as a Means of Communication (A02)

• Subject Area: Greek and Latin Philology
• Term: from 2011 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 178035969

The purpose of TP A02 has been to analyse ancient letters (private and business) preserved on papyrus, ceramic sherds (ostraca), and other portable media, which date from the third century B.C. to the eighth century A.D. The point of departure for the subproject is the thesis that letter writing is a complex social practice, the understanding of which requires close examination of not only the content of the letters, but also their material profiles, layout and formatting conventions, protagonists, methods of delivery and reception etc.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 933: Material Text Cultures. Materiality and Presence of Writing in Non-Typographic Societies
• Applicant Institution: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
• Project Head: Dr. Rodney Ast