ostracon
noun
os·tra·con
ˈä-strə-ˌkän 
plural ostraca
ˈä-strə-kə
: a fragment (as of pottery) containing an inscription
—usually used in plural
Examples of ostracon in a Sentence
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The first ostracon was identified in 1853, and over the next century, only about 1,600 were counted from various deposits in Athens, including some from the Athenian Agora, or marketplace, which Sickinger has been studying.
—
Megan Gannon, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Oct. 2020
That’s because for nearly 50 years archaeologists thought the back of the ostracon was blank, when really the ink was invisible.
—Nicholas St. Fleur, New York Times, 16 June 2017
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Megan Gannon, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Oct. 2020
That’s because for nearly 50 years archaeologists thought the back of the ostracon was blank, when really the ink was invisible.
—Nicholas St. Fleur, New York Times, 16 June 2017
Cite this Entry
“Ostracon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ostracon. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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