A fragile and fragmentary memory - The archives of the Roman world

Contrary to widespread notions, the Roman Republic and the Early Roman Republic made use of records in most fields of government. An ongoing research programme initiated in the early 1902 is aimed at reconstructing, note the contents of the documents, nearly all of which have perished, but the structure of archives pertaining to central and provincial government, and also to finance and religion. It is too soon for any attempt at a general overview, but the strong body of evidence put together by Nicolet and his students and colleagues leaves no room for doubt as to the complexity of Roman archives and registration procedures. They were comparable to what is known about other ancient civilizations.