Villa Magna

As we are writing our pieces for publication....

Here is the style sheet and referencing format for our monograph, the web sections (stratigraphy reports, finds catalogs, and individual ARK entries).

GENERAL RULES FOR STYLE, ABBREVIATIONS AND CONTRACTIONS [Note: # indicates a space.]
Numerals — cardinal: one → twenty, 21 →. At beginning of sentence, in words. Include a comma in numbers of 1,000 and over (except dates).
Numerals — ordinal: first → twentieth, 21st →. At beginning of sentence, in words.
Inverted commas : use single. Display and indent quotes that are more than 50 words: displayed quotes do not require inverted commas. Punctuation follows closing inverted comma in general.
circa: ca
1230s: as shown (that is, no apostrophe)
etcetera: etc.# — avoid if possible
e.g.#: use ‘for example’ whenever possible; otherwise abbreviate as shown
i.e.#: use ‘that is’ whenever possible; otherwise abbreviate as shown
et al.: use (et al.#) in text references when there are more than three authors. In list of references all authors must be cited.
cf.: cf.#.
Dr Prof. ed. eds : abbreviate as shown (that is, omit full point if initial and last letter of word are included in the contraction: however, see below)
units of length: use km m cm mm (that is, without full point; and with numbers as figures, not words); include a space between the number and the unit). For example, 3 km, 4.5 m, 60 mm. When using metre without a specific quantity, spell it out: a metre’s worth.
direction: northeast, north–south south north-northwest. Do not abbreviate. When referring to the direction as a substantive noun, capitalise it: In the North, such a church plan is very common.
in situ, passim as shown
Footnote numbers: in superscript, after the full stop
Dates — absolute: 123 BC fifth millennium BC AD 30 fifth century AD
Dates — radiocarbon: uncalibrated — 46,400 BP; calibrated — 400 cal. BC
Dates — precise: 29 July 1245
number: use in full if possible, otherwise no. or nos.
-ize -ise: -ise should be used. Same for –yse: Analyse, subsidise, and minimise as they do in Britain.
numbers: 1–9 14–19 22–5 134–47 248–314 1974–5 1871–1923
note: in references (in text or notes), n. may be used; however, if there is any room for confusion, give in full
Saint St San etc.: Use Saint (not St) San Santa Sant’ Santi to refer to a person (e.g. Saint Christopher, Sant’ Andrea). Use S., SS. or St- when referring to a place, or a church, following the custom of the place: S. Sepolcro, St-Denis.
mid-: should usually be followed by a hyphen
line: l. and ll. may be used for inscriptions (but see below, Lower case L cf. l)
v. supra, infra etc.: use ‘see above’ etc.
MS MSS for manuscript(s): abbreviate as shown
fol. fols for folio(s): abbreviate as shown
r v for recto and verso: abbreviate and line position as shown
ff. f.: do not use f. but give next page number; ff. should be avoided, and the end page number given
& : do not use
per cent: % immediately after figure; per cent in text
italics: italicise anything to be set in italics; individual words not in English and not in inverted commas should normally be italicised (see Oxford English Dictionary for guidance: if the word appears in the OED, it is now English and is not italicised.) Atrium, fistula, etc. do not get italicised for this reason, unless, to be annoying, they have a Latin plural, as in atria.
quotations: quotations in a language other than that of the article should not be italicised if they are in inverted commas or otherwise typographically set out as quotations; otherwise italicise
Titles: Pope/King/Count etc. + name, the pope/king/count etc. E.g., Emperor Constantine died; the emperor held an important role.
Protestant, Catholic : as shown
Early Bronze Age: noun: as shown, adjective: lower case initial letters
hyphens and en dashes: In a word, use a hyphen. In a sequence of numbers, use an en dash (–): 102–89; 1239–42. In a word formed of two paired nouns, use an en dash (–): north–south orientation, west–east oriented burial.
hyphenation: Hyphenate compound adjectives, especially in the following: sixth-century wall. If in doubt, consult Oxford Spelling Dictionary.
em dashes : Avoid using dashes (— or —) for punctuation: NOT: The em dash — though it is often used as such — is not punctuation.
accents: include all
capital O and zero: please ensure that you use the correct character. If there is room for confusion, please annotate
Roman and Arabic 1/I: if there is room for confusion, please annotate
spelling: English (as opposed to American) should be used for colour, centre, neighbour, etc.
river Tiber, river Sacco: as shown
1128–30: use an en dash where this means from 1128 to 1130
1128/30: use a slash where this means at an uncertain point datable between 1128 and 1130 inclusive
commas: Use lions, tigers and bears NOT lions, tigers, and bears.
cf : As shown
Villamagna: Use Villamagna to refer to the site in general and Villa Magna to refer to the Imperial villa.
SU numbers: SUs are (1234), SSUs are [1234], pavements are 1234, and cuts and negative SU are 1234. NB the commas and final stops are not bold.
dates third-century is an adjective; third century is a noun, eg its third-century foundation OR its foundation in the third century. This goes for all compound adjectives, hyphenate them!