Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Persepolis Fortification Archive page at the Oriental Institute

The Oriental Institute has published a web-presence for the Persepolis Fortification Archive Project.

The Persepolis Fortification Archive Project is a new phase in recording and distributing the information that brings about these changes, using electronic equipment and media alongside the conventional tool-kits of philology and scholarship. In its early phases, the PFA Project has:

  • Captured and edited conventional digital images of almost a thousand Elamite Fortification tablets, accelerating work that has been under way since 2002;
  • Started to capture and edit very high resolution digital images of hundreds Aramaic Fortification tablets and their seal impressions, as well as uninscribed, sealed Fortification tablets, using large-format scanning backs and Polynomial Texture Mapping apparatus built specifically for the project;
  • Started to explore advanced technologies for recording and conservation of Fortification tablets and fragments (3D scanning, subsurface laser scanning, CT scanning, laser cleaning and others);
  • Formed a team of editors to prepare editions of Elamite and Aramaic Fortification tablets and studies of seal impressions, both those accompanying texts and those on uninscribed tablets, to be distributed on a real-time rolling basis along with images of the tablets;
  • Catalogued, assessed and sorted about a third of the thousands of tablets and fragments that remain to be recorded, to identify priorities for conservation, study and presentation;
  • Set up data structures for recording, linking, analyzing and presenting images and documents in the On-Line Cultural Heritage Environment (OCHRE);
  • Entered co-operative agreements with projects at the Collège de France, the University of Southern California, and UCLA. which will lead to distribution of PFA data through at least three other on-line sources;
  • Established a weblog to collect news reports on the status of the PFA as well as on-line images, articles, and books connected with Persepolis and the Persepolis tablets.


The PFA Project Team:
Editorial:
  • Annalisa Azzoni (Vanderbilt University: Aramaic texts);
  • Elspeth R. M. Dusinberre (University of Colorado: seal impressions on Aramaic texts);
  • Mark B. Garrison (Trinity University: seal impressions on all items);
  • Gene Gragg (Oriental Institute: electronic analysis of Elamite texts);
    Wouter F. M. Henkelman (Collège de France: final edition of Elamite texts from the papers of the late Richard T. Hallock);
  • Charles E. Jones (American School of Classical Studies in Athens: new Elamite texts, weblog);
  • Matthew W. Stolper (Oriental Institute: catalogue, new Elamite texts, project oversight).


Technical Support:
  • Laura d’Alessandro (Oriental Institute: conservation);
  • Marilyn Lundberg (University of Southern California: high-quality imaging of Aramaic and uninscribed tablets);
  • Lec Maj (Humanities Research Computing, University of Chicago: advanced technology application, IT support and liaison);
  • John Sanders (Oriental Institute: IT support);
  • Sandra Schloen (Oriental Institute: OCHRE development and support);
  • Bruce Zuckerman (USC: high-quality imaging of Aramaic and uninscribed tablets).


Student Workers and Volunteers (2006–07):
  • Dennis Campbell (post-doc, NELC);
  • Ivan Cangemi (undergraduate, Classics);
  • Elizabeth Davidson (undergraduate, Classics);
  • Irene Glasner (volunteer, OI);
  • Louise Golland (volunteer, OI);
  • Jennifer Gregory (graduate, NELC);
  • Elise Macarthur (graduate, NELC);
  • Clinton Moyer (graduate, Cornell University);
  • John Nielsen (graduate, NELC);
  • Miller Prosser (graduate, NELC)
  • Foy Scalf (graduate: NELC)


Support
Support for some phases of the PFA Project has been received from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; the Chaire d’Histoire et civilisation du monde achéménide et de l’empire d’Alexandre of the Collège de France; the National Geographic Society Committee for Research and Exploration; the PARSA Community Foundation; the University of Chicago Provost’s Program on Academic Technology Innovation; the University of Chicago Women’s Board. Proposals to other agencies and donors are pending or in preparation.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

The Persepolis Fortification Archive Project blog is a year old

In the year this blog has been operational we have had 18,182 visits from 11,175 Unique Visitors. 1,433 visitors have returned more than once.

Do you have thoughts on how we can improve this tool? Please contact us, or leave a comment!

More of the Oriental Institite's Iranian Expedition Publications are now Online

Bowman, Raymond A. Aramaic Ritual Texts from Persepolis
Cameron, George G. Persepolis Treasury Tablets
Herzfeld, Ernst E. A New Inscription of Xerxes from Persepolis
Langsdorff, Alexander and Donald E. McCown. Tall-i-Bakun A: Season of 1932
Schmidt, Erich F. Flights Over Ancient Cities of Iran
Schmidt, Erich F. The Treasury of Persepolis and Other Discoveries in the Homeland of the Achaemenians
Schmidt, Erich F., with a contribution by F. R. Matson. Persepolis I: Structures, Reliefs, Inscriptions
Schmidt, Erich F., with contributions by Sydney P. Noe et al., Frederick R. Matson, Lawrence J. Howell, and Louisa Bellinger. Persepolis II: Contents of the Treasury and Other Discoveries
Schmidt, Erich F., with contributions by Sydney P. Noe et al., Frederick R. Matson, Lawrence J. Howell, and Louisa Bellinger. Persepolis III: The Royal Tombs and Other Monuments

Monday, October 29, 2007

Die Keilinschriften der Achämeniden

A facsimile of Franz Heinrich Weissbach's classic Die Keilinschriften der Achämeniden is now available online free of charge as a part of the ETANA Core Text project. The scan was made available as part of a USAID grant to assist Iraqi universities rebuild their archaeology programs and collections. Prof. Elizabeth Stone was the Principal Investigator for this grant, administered at Stony Brook University in New York State. See also the SBL Forum entry "ETANA Expands its Core Texts"