What is "Palaeography"?

The correct answer is Option (1) → Writing styles with precision in inscriptions.

Option (1) Writing styles with precision in inscriptions. — Correct. Palaeography means styles of writing. Inscriptions that carry no date are dated on the basis of palaeography, with a fair amount of precision: the letter “a”, for instance, was written one way in c. 250 BCE and another way by c. 500 CE.

Option (2) Study of metal and stoneware. — Incorrect. Stone, metal and pottery are only the hard surfaces on which inscriptions are engraved. Palaeography looks at the writing on them, not at the material.

Option (3) Study of transcriptions. — Incorrect. A transcription is a written copy of a text. Palaeography studies the shapes of the letters themselves, which changed from period to period; that is how it helps to date an inscription.

Option (4) Study of coins. — Incorrect. The study of coins is numismatics, which covers their scripts and images, metallurgical analysis and the contexts in which they are found.