Katherine McDonald

A fragment of text inscribed on the Mesha Stele, c.840 BC. Louvre/Wiki Commons.

‘Inventing the Alphabet’ by Johanna Drucker review

Inventing the Alphabet: The Origins of Letters from Antiquity to the Present by Johanna Drucker explores the birth of the alphabet before the Greeks.

A stela with Oscan inscription from Pompeii, first century BC, reading: ‘Vibius Popidius, son of Vibius, chief magistrate, was in charge of this work and the same man approved it.’ (The Trustees of the British Museum)

The Language of the Roman Empire

What language did the Romans speak? Latin was used throughout the Roman Empire, but it shared space with a host of other languages and dialects...