FAIR Epigraphy

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The integration of digital humanities in the field of ancient history has generated major editorial and analytical epigraphic projects based on e.g. amphora stamps for administrative usage and quality control of the content, religiously motivated engravings in sanctuaries, Greco-Roman inscribed epitaphs or Pompeiian pornographic graffiti; large digital datasets have also opened the door to the application of new methods such as Machine Learning. Working with digital methods and making use of digital tools has opened eyes to new approaches, allowing for innovative, unusual perspectives and interpretations of Greek and Roman history, economy and culture. There exist several large (100,000+ texts) and many more small-scale epigraphic databases and corpora. The development of the EpiDoc TEI XML standard (https://sourceforge.net/p/epidoc/wiki/Home/) in the early 2000s has accelerated this work and inspired the first international efforts to network the many, excellent databases and to develop common minimum standards. In the last decade, the EAGLE project (https://www.eagle-network.eu/) achieved some excellent results in bringing together epigraphers and encouraging the adoption of the Trismegistos ID-standard (https://www.trismegistos.org/index.php), but this project also demonstrated that the goal of interoperability implied by linked data requires a different approach than the one at hand in the 2010s. The overall desirability for FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable: https://www.go-fair.org/fair-principles/) data is fundamental to advanced research into the epigraphic, linguistic and material culture of the ancient world. With the increase in Linked Open Data and novel interface technologies and standards, this project will be able to create the tools and the community needed to transform epigraphic research in the digital age. Our internationally collaborative approach will enable and support innovative research across epigraphic data, and the wider linked web of data (especially archaeological data), such that all epigraphic data is increasingly FAIR for both the research community and the wider public. To that end, we aim to (1) consolidate community-wide standards (vocabularies and ontology); (2) develop the tools for community implementation of those standards (vocabulary and ontology hosting and publication); (3) host and make fully accessible the resulting linked open data published by individual projects (RDF/XML data publication). The project team, supported and backed by a dedicated community of epigraphers, will provide the advice and training to enable alignment with agreed standards by past, current and future projects (technical and practical support, development of best-practice networks and training materials). The PIs and the team members will illustrate the cutting-edge research potential of epigraphic linked data and its integration into the wider web of data by publications and research on Greek and Roman history, culture, and economy.