Show HN: I am building a map of people who lived in the Roman Empire

Roman Name Attestations

~250,000 inscriptions from across the Roman Empire, enriched with AI-extracted name data

This map visualises inscriptions from the Epigraphic Database Clauss-Slaby (EDCS) that record personal names. For each inscription an AI pipeline attempts to identify individuals and extract their praenomen, nomen, cognomen, status, and gender.

How to use

Zoom in to explore individual inscriptions. Click any marker to see the people recorded on it, the inscription text, and (where available) a translation and summary. Use the search bar and filters to narrow down what you see.

Prefer to search by name, province, or date? Use the Search / Browse interface to query the database directly, filter results, and export data as CSV or JSON.

Caveats

Name extraction is roughly 80–85% accurate. Errors are inevitable — if you spot a mistake, use the Flag this entry button in the detail panel to report it.

Data & licensing

Inscription data: EDCS · Cross-references: LIRE, EDH, Trismegistos · Map tiles: DARE

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