Classical Studies : Science & Technology :
a guide to Library Resources

Contents:
Starting points | Finding books | Finding journal articles etc. | Sourcebooks | Web-based resources

 STARTING POINTS

If you need to define your topic and/or get some background reading try consulting a dictionary or encyclopedia such as the following:

Encyclopaedia of the history of technology (1990) [print & electronic]
[covers the entire history of technology]

Science in the ancient world: an encyclopedia (2004) [electronic]
[an A–Z listing of the achievements in the physical, chemical, life, medical, and social sciences of the classical world]

Oxford classical dictionary (1996) [print]

[unrivalled one-volume reference work on all aspects of the Graeco-Roman world]

The following is a selection of overviews on various ancient science and technology topics:

Ancient building technology (2000) [print]

[survey of building technology in a period from prehistory to the end of the Classical World]

Ancient food technology (2001) [print]

[a survey of tools and technologies to process and preserve food, devised and used by ancient people in Near Eastern and Classical civilisations]

Ancient technology (2006) [print]
[surveys both physical and ideological/linguistic inventions of the ancient Mediterranean societies]

Greek and Roman technology (1984) [print]
[useful survey of basic technology, architecture, and engineering]

Greek science (1999) [print]
[this survey includes a substantial bibliography of primary sources (with English translations) & secondary sources]

Groundbreaking scientific experiments, inventions, and discoveries of the ancient world (2003) [print] [describes the trial-and-error experiments, discoveries, and inventions of the ancient world]

Handbook of ancient water technology (1999) [print]
[surveys water use and water technology in an area from Mesopotamia to the Atlantic Ocean]

History of technology (1954-1984) [print]
[volume 2 of this 8 volume set covers The Mediterranean civilisations]

History of technology. (1976-) [print]
[an annual collection of essays dealing with the history of technical discovery & change]

History of techniques (1986) [print]
[volume 1 of this 2 volume set includes chapters on Greek and Roman technical systems]

Re-inventions:  essays on Hellenistic & early Roman science (2004) [print]

[covers science & philosophy in the Hellenistic & early Roman period]

Role of metals in ancient Greek history (1996) [print]

[analyses the role of various metals in the context of Greek economic life, politics, culture and art]

Roman science : origins, development and influence (1962) [print]

[covers both Roman and early Medieval times]

Science and mathematics in ancient Greek culture (2002) [print]

[examines the role and achievement of science and mathematics in Greek antiquity]

Seventy great inventions of the ancient world (2004) [print]

[describes human innovation in science and technology]

Studies in ancient technology (1955-64) [print]

[9 volume set which forms a series of books, each containing a number of essays on ancient technology]

Surveying instruments of Greece and Rome (2001) [print]

[history of surveying instruments, with new translations of all relevant ancient texts]

Technology and culture in Greek and Roman antiquity (2007) [print]
[positions ancient technical knowledge in its political, social and intellectual context]

Women in science : antiquity through the nineteenth century (1986) [print]
[A biographical dictionary which profiles women who made significant contributions to science. Also includes annotated bibliographies]

FINDING BOOKS USING THE LIBRARY CATALOGUE

Books can be found by searching the library catalogue. The following are terms which can be browsed using the Subject Heading option

Astronomy, Ancient
Cosmology, Ancient
Mathematics, Ancient
Science, Ancient
Science Greece History
Science Rome History
Technology Greece History
Technology History
Technology Rome

 Or construct your own keyword searches. Here are some examples:

aqueducts and rome
helleni? and (astronomy or cosmology)

Click here if you need help with constructing searches using techniques such as truncation and Boolean operators

FINDING JOURNAL ARTICLES USING DATABASES & BIBLIOGRAPHIES

The following sources are primarily for locating journal articles on a topic, but most of them also include references to books as well.

The premier index for Classics is the printed index L'Annee philologique - See Section 8.C Sciences et Techniques Physiques in each annual volume for topics in science & technology. If you're unfamiliar with L'Annee philologique , read this description before attempting to use it.

Journal articles can also be found using databases listed in the Databases for Classics guide.
In particular, the database Web of Science may be helpful if your enquiry is science-based because science and technology journals routinely include articles on ancient scientific topics.

Apart from the databases, the following bibliographies may be useful: 

Bronze Age, Greek and Roman technology: a select annotated bibliography [print]
[covers bibliography up to c.1985]

Chronology of geological thinking from antiquity to 1899 [print] 
[a bibliography from secondary sources in the history of geology]

Isis: current bibliography of the history of science and its cultural influences [electronic]
[includes coverage of Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages/Byzantium]

SOURCEBOOKS

The following provide translations of primary sources

Greek and Roman technology : a sourcebook [print & electronic]
[annotated translations of Greek and Latin texts and documents which provide an analysis of the origins & development of technology]

Greek science of the Hellenistic era: a sourcebook [print & electronic]
[an introduction to c.100 scientific authors active from 320 BCE to 230 CE.]

Source book in Greek science [print]
[source material from the surviving scientific writings of the Greeks]

WEB-BASED RESOURCES

Some starting points for exploring resources on the Web

Internet History of Science Sourcebook
[contains links to documents and web resources pertaining to the history of science]

Ancient Roman technology
[covers all aspects of Roman technology - food; clothing; arts and crafts; mines and iron; quarries and stoneworking; transport; war; health and medicine]

Greek and Roman Science and Technology
[provides basic information on science and technology in ancient Greece and Rome]

Indexes of Biographies of Mathematicians
[good coverage of ancient mathematics & mathematicians]

This page is maintained by Jennifer Osborn
Last update: 11 December 2007