archaeography

Noun

archaeography (countable and uncountable, plural archaeographies)

1. Descriptive aspects and practices of early antiquarianism, and later archaeology in general.
   • "archaeography: The systematic description of archaeological objects over time made by nonprofessionals (travelers, traders, diplomats, etc.) who are often in situations where they view sites and antiquities in a much better state of preservation than that in which they are today. These accounts...2000, Barbara Ann Kipfer, Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology, page 30
   • The institute grants the degree of doctor of archæology or archæography.1907, Sir Norman Lockyer, Nature, page 285
2. An interdisciplinary field that studies various, mutually correlated aspects and properties of ancient manuscripts, early printed materials and other textual historical sources, thus preparing and producing scholarly descriptions and editions.
   • "archeography (1) The scholarly work of collecting, identifying, cataloging, describing, and publishing manuscripts or other historical sources; traditionally used with reference to medieval manuscript books or other early historical documents".2015, Patricia Kennedy Grimsted, Archives in Russia: A Directory and Bibliographic Guide to Holdings in Moscow and St. Petersburg, page 1230