It dates (according to Mommsen) from a period shortly after the Second Punic War, and is not only curious on account of details concerning the municipal magistrates, but is one of the most important auxiliaries we possess for a study of the Oscan language.
In his early career, he concentrated on the Italic dialects, including among his published work, Der Vocalismus der oskischen Sprache (1892), The Oscan-Umbrian Verb-System (1895), and Grammar of Oscan and Umbrian, with a collection of inscriptions and a glossary (1904), and a précis of the Italic languages in Johnson's Universal Cyclopaedia.
:Not to be confused with Old Scandinavian, sometimes abbreviated 'OScan'.
The name Pre-Samnite refers to the fact that the language was spoken in early times in an area that was later colonised by Samnites, who spoke Oscan.