Britannica
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What sources provide evidence for the Oscan language?
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Italic languages
Map showing the approximate extent of the Italic and neighboring languages about 250 bce.
Evidence for the Oscan language is derived from approximately 200 to 250 documents and inscriptions. These texts were recorded using three distinct writing systems: a native alphabet derived from Etruscan, the Greek alphabet, and a colonial Latin alphabet.12
Key sources within this corpus include:
- Cippus Abellanus: A 2nd-century BCE stone slab containing a treaty between the cities of Nola and Abella.3
- Tabula Bantina: A bronze tablet from the 1st century BCE found in Bantia, which serves as the most extensive Oscan inscription and details municipal penal laws.3
- Agnone Tablet: Dating to approximately 250 BCE, this bronze tablet provides cultic instructions for the worship of Ceres and other deities.3
- Paleo-Oscan inscriptions: The oldest known examples, consisting of vessel inscriptions from the mid-6th century BCE.3
The remaining corpus comprises diverse materials, including curse tablets, sacrificial texts, and various municipal inscriptions.3