Short answers, pulled from the story.
The year 1853 marked a turning point for classical scholarship when Theodor Mommsen established the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum in Berlin. A committee formed shortly after to organize the scattered records of Latin inscriptions that scholars had described piecemeal over centuries.
The first volume appeared in 1863, launching a project that would span generations. This initial release began the systematic effort to create a single authoritative source for all surviving epigraphy from the Roman Empire.
Volumes two through fourteen divide geographically according to regions where inscriptions were discovered across the empire. Volume seven covers Britain while volume eight focuses on Africa and other entries include inscriptions from Cáceres in Spain within Volume II.
The project now contains approximately 180,000 inscriptions recorded across about seventy parts. Thirteen supplementary volumes contain plates and special indices that support the main series of seventeen primary volumes.
An Index of Numbers correlating inscription identifiers with volume numbers appeared in 2003. This index ensures every region receives focused attention rather than being lost within a general catalog.