Crossing Experiences in Digital Epigraphy. From Practice to Discipline (original) (raw)
Although a relevant number of projects digitizing inscriptions are under development or have been recently accomplished, Digital Epigraphy is not yet considered to be a proper discipline. Digital epigraphists train on the field, create networks, but and there are still no regular occasions to meet and discuss. By collecting contributions on nineteen projects – very diversified for geographic and chronological context, for script and language, and for typology of digital output – this volume intends to point out the methodological issues which are specific to the application of information technologies to epigraphy. The first part of the volume is focused on data modelling and encoding, which are conditioned by the specific features of different scripts and languages, and deeply influence the possibility to perform searches on texts, and the approach to the lexicographic study of such under-resourced languages. The second part of the volume is dedicated to the initiatives aimed at fostering aggregation, dissemination and the reuse of epigraphic materials, and to discuss issues of interoperability. The common theme of the volume is the relationship between the compliance with the theoretic tools and the methodologies developed by each different tradition of studies, and, on the other side, the necessity of adopting a common framework in order to produce commensurable and shareable results. The final question is whether the computational approach is changing the way epigraphy is studied, to the extent of renovating the discipline on the basis of new, unexplored questions.
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The aim of the present paper is to direct attention to new perspectives on the role and integration of epigraphy into the digital age. Nowadays, epigraphic and historical studies undergo a period of remarkable vitality, thanks to the finding of new inscriptions that enhance our understanding on past societies. History gives a great example of an interdisciplinary field, drawing not only on epigraphy, but also on numismatics and other related sciences. Despite the various efforts to digitize epigraphic heritage, the existing databases are primarily intended for specialized audiences, academics or researchers. Without overlooking the educational role of epigraphy, this paper examines and proposes new ways in which inscriptions can become more accessible to wider audiences. To this end, digital media can provide the means for more efficient engaging with the public.
Qualitative and quantitative approaches in digital epigraphy
Archeologia e Calcolatori 31.2, 2020
An epigraph is a complex historical document, whose significance is fully acknowledged only if its textual features (script, language, content, etc.) are studied in combination with the contextual information (on the textual support and its provenance). This is the reason why digital epigraphy lies at the crossroads of different disciplines applying ITs to textual and material sources, such as digital philology, computational linguistics, and computational archaeology. The specific interests and methods of those disciplines have exerted an influence on digital epigraphy, which is apparent in the documentary vs statistical approaches applied over time to the electronic treatment of the (re)source ‘inscription’. The aim of the paper is to trace those trends in the application of qualitative vs quantitative methods in the history of studies of digital epigraphy, highlighting the main moments of change, until the most recent developments.
«The Places of Inscriptions from Epigraphy to Digital Epigraphy» Historika XX, 2020, pp. 233-250
Historika, 2020
The study and publication of inscriptions involves the analysis of many different pieces of information related to “places”: from data on the archaeological discovery, the original location, the place of preservation, up to all the geographical or topographical references contained in the epigraphic text or related to its historical context. The representation of spatial data in Digital Epigraphy projects, and in particular in online corpora, is nowadays of undeniable importance and has led to an increasing attention in research to the aspects of archaeological context, urban topography or historical geography present in the inscriptions. This can be interpreted in the more general framework of the “spatial turn”that has affected classical studies as well as all the human and social sciences, in parallel with the development of information technologies applied to Geography, Cartography, and Ancient Topography, from GIS to the opportunities offered by the Semantic Web and Linked Open Data.This article aims to offer the reader a reasoned overview of the major issues and practices related to the encounter between Epigraphy and Geography / Topography in the digital environment, through the examination of a series of digital projects considered particularly illustrative in this purpose.
Encoding, Interoperability, Lexicography: Digital Epigraphy Through the Lens of DASI Experience
De Santis, Annamaria & Rossi, Irene (Eds), Crossing Experiences in Digital Epigraphy. From Practice to Discipline, Warsaw-Berlin: De Gruyter Open, 2018
The paper describes the main challenges faced and the solutions adopted in the frame of the project DASI – Digital archive for the study of pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions. In particular, it discusses the methodological and technological issues that emerged during the conversion from the CSAI – Corpus of South Arabian inscriptions project (a domain-specific, text-based, digital edition conceived at the end of 1990s) to the wider DASI archive for the study of inscriptions in different languages and scripts of ancient Arabia. The paper devotes special attention to: the modelling of data and encoding (XML annotation vs database approach; the conceptual model for the valorisation of the material aspect of the epigraph; the textual encoding for critical editions); interoperability (pros and cons of compliance to standards; harmonization of metadata; openness; semantic interoperability); lexicography (tools for underresourced languages; translations), with a view to possibly fostering reasoning on best practices in the community of digital epigraphers beyond each specific cultural/linguistic domain.
Asking text-bearing objects: Contribution of epigraphical theories to digital representation of text
This methodological framework tries to combine the epigraphical theories and methods with the digital representation of text. The first section describes the methodological aspects of epigraphy, in particular the autopsy. The key concept concerns that epigraphy deals with text-bearing objects characterized by the genuineness and the uniqueness of the text. The second section discusses the nine levels of analysis proposed for the digital representation of inscriptions: 1. Metadata; 2. Matrix of the artefact; 3. Images of the artefact; 4. Decorations or figurative elements; 5. Transcription of the text: diplomatic edition; 6. Related epigraphs; 7. Text: critical edition with apparatus; 8. Bibliography; 9. Commentaries. At each level, the epigraphical evidence relates to the Res Gestae Divi Augusti (RGDA). The last section is dedicated to comparison between digital epigraphy and digital papyrology in order to consider their paths in the Digital Humanities. Now the papyrological world has a single platform, whereas epigraphers use databases more localized (based on geographic origin of inscriptions) and specialized, with, for only some of them, a basic common interface. Furthermore, these reflections would encourage interoperable tools and cooperation between communities.
2020
Epigraphy.info has become an international open community pursuing a collaborative environment for digital epigraphy, which facilitates scholarly communication and interaction. It intends not to replace existing digital resources, but rather to serve as "a landing point for digital tools, practices and methodologies for managing collections of inscriptions". 1 During the first workshop (March 21-23, 2018) 2 , an international group of scholars gathered in Heidelberg to discuss the concept of Epigraphy.info. Participants focused on four major topic areas: participating people/institutions, structure, finances, and tasks. A steering committee and organizing committee were formed to coordinate next steps. A second workshop followed in Zadar (December 14th-16th, 2018) 3 where the main outcome was the draft of a mission statement, and (based on the results of the breakout sessions) a series of goals and tasks to be discussed during the next workshop. The third workshop, which is the subject of this report, took place in Vienna (May 30-June 1, 2019). Its main outcome has been the approval of the mission statement and the forming of working groups with responsible persons identified to coordinate the tasks outlined after the breakout sessions and formalized during the final plenary session. Participants 4 Thirty-seven scholars from thirteen countries personally attended the 3rd Epigraphy.info workshop in Vienna, while eighteen more indicated that they were not able to come, but 1 Mission statement on the homepage of the website: http://epigraphy.info 2 F. Feraudi-Gruénais / F.
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