Inscriptions found in the buildings adjacent to the port city of Pompeii 

Giovanni Battista Piranesi's etching captures the remnants of Pompeii, emphasizing its epigraphic landscape. The inscriptions—SPONI, LAL, PORgOV—are not mere labels but echoes of a lost world, frozen by Vesuvius’s wrath. Inscriptions, like these, have long served as potent markers of human presence, from the Rosetta Stone to ancient boundary markers. Such lettering, a cry against oblivion, evokes the psychological weight of history. This quest for immortalization transcends time. We see it later in memorial inscriptions on tombstones and war memorials. Writing becomes a symbolic act to defy mortality, a way to leave a lasting mark on the collective consciousness. These aren't just words; they are remnants of human stories, speaking to our subconscious about the cyclical nature of civilization, destruction, and rediscovery.