Use this epigraphic utility to apply a stated parsing, transcription, measurement, dating, classification, or documentation rule consistently while preparing inscriptions for scholarly review.

Relief height (mm)

Relief height of the carving in millimeters.

Shadow length (mm)

Desired shadow length across the surface in millimeters.

Compute the raking-light incidence angle that casts a shadow of a chosen length across carved relief of a given height. The tool evaluates the supplied inputs together and returns the named outputs below; it does not infer omitted operating conditions or change the units shown.^[1]

tan(angle)

Height divided by shadow length (tangent of the rake angle).

Rake angle (°)

Grazing incidence angle above the surface in degrees.

• RTI, raking light, and multispectral notes describe capture conditions rather than guarantee a reading. Illumination geometry, calibration, wavelength, registration, processing, surface reflectance, and operator interpretation affect visible features.
• Use finite inputs in the displayed units and preserve more precision than the final presentation requires. Independently verify safety-critical, financial, compliance, or production decisions.

Retain the photograph, squeeze or scan, diplomatic transcription, provenance, dimensions, uncertainty marks, and corpus identifiers with the result. Confirm ambiguous cases against the relevant corpus, Leiden conventions, parallel inscriptions, and specialist judgment.

• Line Count from Text Length and Column Width Estimator

  Estimate how many inscribed lines a text of given character length occupies at an average column width in characters per line, rounding up to whole lines.

• Pediment Frame Triangle Angle Geometry Checker

  Check the raking geometry of a pediment frame triangle by deriving the apex angle from the two measured base angles.

• Cartouche Enclosure Oval Aspect Ratio Checker

  Check the height-to-width aspect ratio of a cartouche or oval enclosure and report its orientation.