A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome
book by Samuel Ball Platner

A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome is a reference work written by Samuel Ball Platner (1863–1921).
The first edition was published in 1904; the second edition ('revised and enlarged') was published in 1911 (both: Allyn and Bacon, Boston).
The book was completed by Thomas Ashby after Platner's death and published in 1929 by Oxford University Press. Referred to as 'Platner and Ashby', the volume describes the ancient monuments and buildings in the city of Rome, although by and large only if they belong to the classical period. It covers both remains that are still extant and buildings of which not a trace remained, and collates source documents for each. This volume was, for fifty or sixty years, the standard reference in the field of Roman topography, having superseded Rodolfo Lanciani's Forma Urbis Romae (1893–1901).
Platner and Ashby has since itself been superseded by a reworking, L. Richardson, Jr.'s A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome, but mostly by the new standard, a completely new work, Margareta Steinby's Lexicon Topographicum Urbis Romae (six volumes, 1993–2000).
See also
Topography of ancient Rome
List of ancient monuments in Rome
History of Rome
References
External links
A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome at Perseus Project.
A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome at LacusCurtius.
A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome, EOS at The University of Chicago Library – The University of Chicago Library.
“A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome” enters the record as book by Samuel Ball Platner. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Topographical, Dictionary and Ancient can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Topographical, Dictionary and Ancient provides the most credible route into that argument.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1999241. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1863, 1921, 1904 and 1911.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome primary sources, A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome archive and Topographical research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome”?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.