Epigraphy is a subject which can strike fear into the heart of the boldest scholar.
Even the historians, linguists and archaeologists who are well aware how much it has to offer them are daunted at the prospect of tackling the material. To deal with such problems, a group of French scholars produced in 1986 the first edition of this Guide , revealing to the uninitiated the keys to the study of the epigraphies of the ancient world, from the Greeks and Romans to the 'barbarians' who lived next door. This first edition contained a carefully selected bibliographical apparatus, with brief comments on individual works, a methodological introduction and a rich series of indices. The 1872 items of the first edition, along with the 178 added in the second edition of 1989, have been incorporated in the third edition, up-dated and complemented by work published up to 30 November 1999. A special feature of the new edition is an account of the computer resources now available to epigraphers, in CD-Rom or as Internet sites.