The Ashmolean Latin Inscriptions Project: Bringing epigraphic research to museum visitors and...

Studi umanistici – Antichistica

Convegni

Information Technologies for Epigraphy

and Cultural HeritageProceedings of the First EAGLE International

Conference

Collana Convegni 26

Studi umanistici Serie Antichistica

Information Technologiesfor Epigraphy

and Cultural HeritageProceedings

of theFirst EAGLE International Conference

a cura diSilvia Orlandi, Raffaella Santucci,

Vittore Casarosa, Pietro Maria Liuzzo

2014

Copyright © 2014 Sapienza Università Editrice Piazzale Aldo Moro 5 – 00185 Roma www.editricesapienza.it [email protected] Iscrizione Registro Operatori Comunicazione n. 11420 ISBN 978-88-98533-42-8 DOI 10.13133/978-88-98533-42-8

Quest’opera è distribuita con licenza Creative Commons 3.0 diffusa in modalità open access.

Distribuita su piattaforma digitale da: Centro interdipartimentale di ricerca e servizi Settore Publishing Digitale

In copertina: Logo EAGLE The Europeana network of Ancient Greek and Latin Epigraphy. Divieto di riproduzione.

Contents

Part I – Epigraphic data:models, vocabularies and interactions 21

1. A Conceptual Model for Inscriptions 23Vittore Casarosa, Paolo Manghi, Andrea Mannocci, Eydel Rivero Ruiz,

Franco Zoppi1.1. Introduction 241.2. EpiDoc and modern epigraphy 261.3. Analysis in CIDOC-CRM 271.4. The Aggregator Conceptual Model 311.5. The EAGLE implementation 341.6. Conclusions 38

2. Improving Text-Based Search of Inscriptions 41Michelangelo Ceci, Gianvito Pio, Anita Rocco2.1. Introduction 412.2. Epigraphic text-based search in EDB 422.3. Exploiting lemmatization to improve text-based search 432.4. Conclusions and Future Work 47

3. From the LIMC Vocabulary to LOD 51Anne-Violaine Szabados3.1. Introduction 513.2. Why the need for a controlled vocabulary? 523.3. From a controlled vocabulary to a standards-compliant

thesaurus 533.4. ISO 25964 -compliant 583.5. Linked Data : opening new ways 613.6. Conclusion 63

10 Information Technologies for Epigraphy and Cultural Heritage

4. Between Harmonization and Peculiarities of Scientific Domains 69Alessandra Avanzini, Annamaria De Santis, Daniele Marotta, Irene Rossi4.1. Studying the epigraphic heritage of ancientArabia: overview

of the project DASI 694.2. Describing inscriptions 704.3. Publishing digitized inscriptions 844.4. Future developments 89

5. Epigraphy, Art History, Archaeology 95Antonio E. Felle, Norbert Zimmermann5.1. EDB and spatial data 955.2. The Domitilla Project 975.3. Interaction between EDB and Domitilla Projekt 1025.4. An example: the region of the Flavi Aurelii 1035.5. Conclusion 112

6. Inscriptions visual recognition 117Giuseppe Amato, Fabrizio Falchi, Fausto Rabitti, Lucia Vadicamo6.1. Introduction 1176.2. Related Work 1196.3. Tested approaches 1196.4. Experiments 1216.5. BoF with Geometric consistency checks 1256.6. Comparison 1266.7. Conclusions and Future Work 127

7. Morphological Residual Model 133Hugo Pires, João Fonte, Luis Gonçalves-Seco, Maria João Correia Santos,

Orlando Sousa7.1. Introduction 1337.2. Data Capture 1367.3. Methodological Approach 1367.4. Visualization of M.R.M. results for epigraphic reading:

four case-studies 1387.5. Conclusions and Future Work 141

Contents 11

8. Image Editing Programs as Tools for the Study of Ancient In-scriptions 145

Federico Frasson8.1. Photos of inscriptions from Luna 145

8.2. Results 148

8.3. Conclusions 149

Part II – Translating epigraphy: challanges and research out-come 153

9. Attic Inscriptions Online (AIO) 155

Stephen Lambert, Finlay McCourt9.1. Background to AIO 155

9.2. Target users of AIO 157

9.3. Key features of AIO 158

9.4. Technical aspects of AIO 161

9.5. Progress so far 162

9.6. Future plans and EAGLE context 162

10. Towards an EAGLE Standard in Translating Inscriptions 167

Francesca Bigi10.1. Introduction 167

10.2. Translations: an innovation 167

10.3. An EAGLE vocabulary for translations? 168

10.4. A vocabulary: some suggestions 169

10.5. What is to be translated 170

10.6. Names 174

10.7. Offices and formularies 175

11. Translating Greek and Roman Inscriptions 179

Camilla Campedelli11.1. Absence of the original context 181

11.2. Elliptical form of expression 181

11.3. Specific cultural lexicon 183


12. The EAGLE Mediawiki 187Pietro Maria Liuzzo, Andrea Zanni, Luca Martinelli, Lorenzo Losa, Pietro

De Nicolao12.1. EAGLE and Wikimedia Italia 18712.2. The EAGLE Mediawiki in place 19112.3. Networking the Mediawiki 19612.4. Future developments 19712.5. Conclusions 199

Part III – Users, epigraphy and the social web 203

13. Epigraphy as a tool for learning Latin 205Anja Ragolič13.1. The Prežihov Voranc Primary School in Ljubljana 20513.2. Research camps 20613.3. Research papers 20713.4. Research project Epigraphy 21413.5. Guide to the lapidarium for primary schools 21513.6. Conclusion 215

14. The Ashmolean Latin Inscriptions Project (AshLI) 221Jane Masséglia14.1. A Neglected Corpus 22114.2. Gauging the Needs of Users 22214.3. Proposing a Solution: AshLI 22314.4. The Team 22314.5. At the end of our first year – what we’ve learned 228

15. (Digital) epigraphy as viewedbyRomanianArchaeology/ClassicsStudents 233Rada Varga15.1. Target groups and method 23315.2. The survey 23415.3. The general outline 23515.4. Epigraphy and digital epigraphy 236

Contents 13


16.Meeting the Needs of Today’s Audiences of Epigraphy with Dig-ital Editions 239

Laura Löser16.1. A focus on purposes and needs 239

16.2. Aims in support of progressive development 242

16.3. Today’s diverse audiences for epigraphy 243

16.4. How to meet diverse needs with modern editorial means 246


17. #svegliamuseo 255

Francesca De Gottardo17.1. The Project 255

17.2. The reaction of Italian museums and the #svegliamuseocommunity 258

17.3. Italian museums online: what has changed since 2013and future developments 259

18. #DigitalInvasions 265

Elisa Bonacini, Marianna Marcucci, Fabrizio Todisco18.1. Prosumers and new ways of cultural heritage dissemina-

tion through UGC 265

18.2. #DigitalInvasions: best practice of crowd cultural valueco-creation 269

18.3. #DigitalInvasions2014: amassive digital phenomenon fromItaly to the world 277

18.4. Cultural policies and socio-digital impacts of #DigitalIn-vasions projects 278

19.Archeowiki: enhancing archaeological heritage in Lombardy (Italy)with open-source strategies 285

Anna Antonini, Dante Bartoli, Sara Chiesa, Cristian Consonni, RossellaDi Marco, Sara Franco

19.1. Introduction 285

19.2. Digital archives for museums 286


19.3. Open Source initiatives in the cultural environment: ideasand examples 288

19.4. Wikipedia and Crowdsourcing initiatives in the culturalenvironment 291

19.5. Archeowiki project 29419.6. CreativeCommons licenses for cultural heritage protected

by MIBACT: a viable solution 29819.7. Chain reaction 302

20. Intellectual Property Right Issues 307Alessandra Giovenco20.1. An overviewof Intellectual Property, copyright and copy-

left 30720.2. Are all works protected by copyright? Some thoughts on

the Italian IP law 30920.3. The BSR process for solving IPR questions 31020.4. Images from the South Etruria collection (inscriptions

located in Italy) 31320.5. Images from the Libya collection (inscriptions located in

Libya) 31420.6. Translations from Libyan inscriptions 31520.7. Conclusions 315

Part IV – Digital approaches to cross-disciplinary studies of in-scriptions 317

21.Digital Marmor Parium 319Monica Berti, Simona Stoyanova21.1. The Digital Marmor Parium Project 31921.2. The Digital Marmor Parium 320

22. The Inscription between text and object 325Emmanuelle Morlock, Eleonora Santin22.1. Introduction and purposes 32522.2. Interaction between text and object: four possible config-

urations 328

Contents 15

22.3. Defining concepts: key entities for the material and tex-tual dimensions 336

22.4. The encoding strategy of the IGLouvre project 34222.5. Conclusions and perspectives 347

23. The IGCyr project 351Alice Bencivenni, Simone Agrimonti23.1. The IGCyr project 35123.2. A laboratory for encoding IGCyr: challenges and prob-

lems of a user engagement based markup 359

24. Latin Epigraphic Poetry Database Project 369Concepción Fernández Martínez, María Limón Belén24.1. Introduction: The CLE Hispaniae Project 36924.2. Objectives of the project 37124.3. The CLE Hispaniae website: www.clehispania.com 37124.4. 4. Impending Project: the CLE Galliae 377

25. Paleographic Analysis of the Stone Monuments of Aquincum,Pannonia 381Nándor Agócs; István Gergő Farkas; Ádám Szabó, Ernő Szabó25.1. Introduction 38125.2. Methodology 38425.3. The process of the project 38425.4. Conclusion 39225.5. The future of paleographical research in Pannonia 393

26. Low-cost Structure from Motion Technology 401Daniele Mittica, Michele Pellegrino, Anita Rocco26.1. Introduction 40126.2. Methodology 40526.3. The workflow 40926.4. Other reconstruction tools: Autodesk 123D Catch and

Agisoft Photoscan 41126.5. 3D model management: visualization and presentation 41426.6. Conclusion and possible developments 414


27.Open-Access Epigraphy 421Eleni Bozia, Angelos Barmpoutis, Robert S. Wagman27.1. Introduction 42127.2. Dissemination of 3D epigraphic content 427

28. Travelling back in Time to Recapture Old Texts 437Maria João Correia Santos, Orlando Sousa, Hugo Pires, João Fonte, Luís

Gonçalves-Seco28.1. Introduction 43728.2. Methodology 43828.3. Travelling back in time to recapture old texts: four case

studies 43928.4. Towards some conclusions 450

29. The EPNet Project 455José Remesal, Albert Díaz-Guilera, Bernardo Rondelli, Xavier Rubio, An-

tonio Aguilera, Daniel Martín-Arroyo, Alessandro Mosca, Guillem Rull29.1. Setting the focus 45529.2. An ongoing debate: the economy of Roman Empire 45629.3. A groundbreaking vision 45729.4. Innovation 459

30.A Multi-Layered Reserach on an Ancient Cypriot Inscription 465Michalis Georgiou, Spyros Armostis, Sorin Hermon, Elena Christophorou,

Valentina Vassallo30.1. Introduction 46530.2. The Eulalios inscription (AKGDC, E40) 46730.3. 3D documentation of musical instruments 47130.4. Metadata for Ancient Cypriot Inscriptions 47430.5. Conclusions 475

A. Panels 479

A.1. Dealing with the Whole Object: the Archaeological Di-mension of Epigraphy 480

A.2. Technology and tradition: a synergic approach to deci-phering, analyzing and annotating epigraphic writings 482

Contents 17

A.3. Digital Humanities Publishing and Collaboration Strate-gies and Frameworks 483

A.4. Mobile Applications in Cultural Heritage 484

A.5. Linked Ancient World Data 486

B. List of Posters presented 487

C. List of authors 490

Abbreviations

AE L’Année épigraphiqueAIJ V. Hoffiller, B. Saria, Antike Inschriften aus Jugo-

slavien, Heft I: Noricum und Pannonia Superior.– Zagreb 1938.

AIO Attic Inscriptions OnlineBE Bulletin Épigraphique, in REG, Paris 1888-.CIDOC-CRM International Committee for Documentation -

Conceptual Reference ModelCIG Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum, I-IV, Berlin

1828-1877.CIL Corpus Inscriptionum LatinarumEDB Epigraphic Database BariEDH Epigraphic Database HeidelbergEDR Epigraphic Database RomaEDM Europeana Data ModelICVR Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romae septimo

saeculo antiquiores; ICVR nova series, voll. I-X,Roma – in civitate Vaticana 1922-1992.

IG Inscriptiones GraecaeILJug A. and J. Šašel, Inscriptiones Latinae, quae in

Iugoslavia inter annos MCMLX et MCMLXX re-pertae et editae sunt (Situla 19). Ljubljana 1978;iidem, Inscriptiones Latinae, quae in Jugoslaviainter annos MCMII et MCMXL repertae et editaesunt (Situla 25). Ljubljana 1986.


ILSl 1 M. Lovenjak, Inscriptiones Latinae Sloveniae 1.Neviodunum (Situla 37). – Ljubljana, 1998.

LIMC Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae ClassicaeLOD Linked Open Datalupa UBI ERAT LUPA – Roman Stone Monuments

(Service provider: CHC – Archäometrie und Cul-tural Heritage Computing, Universität Salzburg.

OA Open AnnotationPHI Searchable Greek Inscriptions, Packard Humani-

ties Institute, Los Altos 1996.PIR2 II Prosopographia Imperii Romani saec. I. II. III.

Pars II, ed. E. Groag, A. Stein, Berolini-Lipsiae1936.

PIR2 V 2 Prosopographia Imperii Romani saec. I. II. III.Pars V, fasciculus 2, ed. L. Petersen, Berolini1983.

RDF Resource Description FrameworkRINMS M. Šašel Kos, The Roman Inscriptions in the

National Museum of Slovenia / Lapidarij Narod-negamuzeja Slovenije (Situla 35). Ljubljana 1997.

SB Preisigke, F. et al. (eds.), Sammelbuchgriechischer Urkunden aus Ägypten, Strassburg-Wiesbaden 1915-.

SECir Oliverio, G., Pugliese-Carratelli, G., Morelli, D.,Supplemento Epigrafico Cirenaico, Annuariodella Scuola Archeologica di Atene e delle Mis-sioni Italiane in Oriente (ASAA), 39-40 (= n.s. 23-24), 1963, 219-375.

SEG Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum, Leiden1923-1971, then Amsterdam 1979-.

SGDI Bechtel, F., Baunack, J., et al., Collitz, H. (ed.),Sammlung der griechischen Dialekt-Inschriften,Göttingen 1884-1915.

SKOS Simple Knowledge Organization SystemURI Unique Resource Identifier

14. The Ashmolean Latin Inscriptions Project(AshLI)Bringing epigraphic research to museum visitors andschools

Jane Masséglia

AbstractAshLI is a new collaboration between two UK universities, eleven UK schoolsand a major UK museum, aiming to bring a neglected corpus of Latin inscrip-tions to a wider audience. The project is a test-case for how ‘pure’ epigraphicresearch can be transformed into something of interest and value to the public,through online resources and new gallery displays.

Keywords

Epigraphy, Latin, Schools, Teaching, Engagement, Outreach

14.1. A Neglected CorpusThe Ashmolean Museum in Oxford owns around 300 Latin inscrip-tions, which it has accumulated over the centuries since 1683. Thecore of the collection consists of the Arundel marbles, but the museumhas made further acquisitions since the seventeenth century, most re-cently of inscriptions from the estate of the late Sir Howard Colvin.The inscriptions originate from Britain and other parts of the Romanworld and date from the late Republic down to mediaeval times. Thecollection includes a wide range of types of inscriptions: many aremonumental inscriptions such as epitaphs, religious dedications, andcommemorative building-inscriptions, but many more are inscribedupon everyday objects, including pewterware, pottery, and even a setof panpipes. None of the inscriptions on its own is of any especialhistorical consequence, but together they offer insights into the Romanworld, its commemorative habits, social hierarchy, economic networks,and uses of literacy.


The main publication of the collection remains Richard Chandler’sMarmora Oxoniensia (1763), which included the 134 monumental in-scriptions then owned by the Museum. No modern edition of thecollection exists, and no photographic record of the monumental in-scriptions, or corpus of the non-monumental inscriptions have everbeen published.

14.2. Gauging the Needs of UsersSchools Roman life topics are extremely popular inUKprimary schools

(age 5-11), and are an essential part of the syllabus in ClassicalCivilization and Latin at GCSE-level (age 15-16) and A-Level (age17-18). In the academic year 2012/3, however, the Ashmolean Ed-ucation Department hosted around only 20 primary school visitswith a Roman focus (compared with around 250 with an Egyp-tian focus), and offered online only two Roman-themed learningresources, both of which could only be used in conjunction witha museum visit. In the same year, the museum recorded aroundonly 50 secondary schools who requested teaching sessions onClassical (i.e. Greek or Roman) topics. In short, the Romancollection is currently underused as a teaching resource by vis-iting schools. In a survey of teachers conducted by the Ash-molean Latin Inscription Project in 2013/14, the most commonreason given for a museum visit was the perceived relevance ofthe collection to the syllabus. It became clear that the museumdisplays, gallery sessions and online resource provision neededto be reviewed specifically in light of schools’ needs, and linkswith the syllabus made more explicit.

The Visually Impaired It was also noted that the provision of ‘touchtours’, designed specifically for visually impaired visitors hadfallen into obsolescence since the Ashmolean was renovated in2009. There was a clear need for both displays and teachingresourceswhichwere accessible to the blind andpartially-sighted,and the popularity of Roman life topics and the nature of the textsmake the Ashmolean’s Latin inscriptions an excellent test-case forsuch a provision.

The Academic Community (Local) As an Oxford University museum,the Ashmolean is also an important part of the University’s teach-ing and research provision. Students and researchers engaged

14. The Ashmolean Latin Inscriptions 223

in epigraphic study have access to online and published corpora,and the extensive squeeze collection housed at the Centre for theStudy of Ancient Documents (CSAD) in the Faculty of Classics.But few stones are currently on display in the museum, and itwas apparent that any increase in provision would be welcomedby both teachers and students.

The Academic Community (International) The absence of an up-to-date cataloguewas also felt to be anomalous for such a large collec-tion in a major institution. In order to allow these inscriptions tobe accessible to the greatest number of users, an online cataloguewas deemed to be most appropriate, using EpiDoc conventionswhich would ensure its compatibility and durability, and allowits integration into international epigraphic online databases, in-cluding EAGLE.

14.3. Proposing a Solution: AshLIIn October 2013, a new three-year project was begun under the bannerof the Arts and Humanities Research Council, to address these needs.The project retains its formal title ‘Facilitating Access to Latin inscriptionsin Britain’s Oldest Public Museum through Scholarship and Technology’, butis more usually referred to as The Ashmolean Latin Inscriptions Project, orAshLI. It is a three-way collaboration betweenWarwick University, theCentre for the Study of Ancient Documents at Oxford University, andthe Ashmolean Museum, and comprises a complete inventory of themuseum’s Latin inscriptions followed by a new EpiDoc catalogue withdigital photography, new gallery displays, and a dedicated programmeof outreach and pedagogical provision. It will end in September 2016,after which time all the project’s outputs will remain in place, andavailable to users in perpetuity.

14.4. The Team• Dr Alison Cooley, Warwick University: Principal Investigator,responsible for overall project and epigraphic study of the inscrip-tion collection.

• Dr Charles Crowther, CSAD, Oxford University: Co-Investigator,assisting with EpiDoc formatting and digitization.


• Dr Susan Walker, Ashmolean Museum: Co-Investigator, assist-ing with access and integration with Museum resources.

• Dr Jane Masséglia, CSAD, Oxford University: Research Fellow,responsible for teaching resources and public engagement.

• Dr Hannah Cornwell, CSAD, Oxford University: Research Assis-tant, responsible for EpiDoc cataloguing and digital media.

• Ben Altshuler, The Classics Conclave and CSAD: Imaging Spe-cialist, responsible for Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI)and image capture.

14.4.1. Academic Engagement Vs. Public EngagementAshLI’s aim is not simply to create an epigraphic catalogue, but toengage users with the material contained within it. Our two mainaudiences are Academic Users in Higher Education, and members ofthe Public (including schools) who have an interest in Roman topics.

Inventory of Ashmolean Latin Inscriptions

Research, RTI, Digital Photography

New Catalogue

New Gallery Displays

Museum Sessions

TeachingResources

OnlineSocial Media EpiDoc Corpus

OnlineScholarly

Articles

Public Engagement Academic Engagement

Epigraphic Research

Fig. 14.1. The transition from Epigraphic Research to Engagement

We hope to engage academic users primarily through the integra-tion of our EpiDoc catalogue into familiar research provisions, suchas EAGLE, but also to draw attention to our project through scholarlyarticles, conferences such as this, and social media.


But engaging non-traditional users, such as school children andmuseum visitors, presents a greater challenge. While academic usersare accustomed to seeking out epigraphic material and dealing with‘raw’ evidence, non-academic users may need more explicit guidancetowards points of interest within an inscription. They may also be putoff by epigraphic jargon, the perceived obstacle of the Latin languageand feel uncertain about what inscriptions were for. In AshLI’s pro-vision of new gallery displays and teaching material, we assume noprior epigraphic knowledge and (with the exception of certain teachingmaterials specifically aimed at students of Latin) no prior knowledge ofthe Latin language.

14.4.2. Engaging with SchoolsTo ensure the suitability and effectiveness of our public engagementprovisions, a group of eleven schools has been engaged to take partin a pilot scheme from autumn 2014. The group comprises primary,secondary, and sixth form, as well as a specialist school for the blindand partially sighted. They represent a mix of local schools, able totest the full range of online resources, gallery displays and museumsessions, and those from elsewhere in the UK who will test only theonline resources. Not only will our pilot schools help us to tailor ourprovisions to their needs but, we hope, will spread the word about theavailable resources.

14.4.3. Public Engagement: an Overview (R>L in fig. 14.1)From an initial survey of our eleven pilot schools, it became clear thatteachers preferred material to be presented according to topic, suchas Roman Religion, the Roman Army, and Roman Families which theycould then slot into their existing teaching. We have, therefore, selectedinscriptions for display online and in the museum primarily accordingto their suitability as teaching aids for these topics.

a New Gallery Displays

Planning for the introduction of inscriptions into three galleries iscurrently underway:

1. The RomeGallery: Into the existing thematic displays, we in-tend to introduce inscribed funerary reliefs showingmounted


horsemen (topics: Roman Army, the Geography of the RomanEmpire, Roman Families, and Roman Death), and a series ofinscriptions commemorating public feasting (topic: RomanReligion, and Roman Daily Life). An additional informationboard, with images of inscriptions too large and heavy to bedisplayed, will show information about multilingualism inthe Empire (topics: Geography of the Roman Empire, Languageand Literacy in the Roman Empire).

2. Reading & Writing Gallery:Cracking Codes An information panel on common abbre-

viations and formulae will be complemented by hands-on activities, including a ‘Build your own Roman Tomb-stone’ display with interchangeable pieces, and a touch-able replica stone (topics: Roman Death, Roman Families,and Language and Literacy in Rome Empire).

Columbarium More ambitious is the proposal to reconstructaRoman columbariumbydisplaying ten funerary plaques,each below a decorated, three-dimensional niche, recon-structing the display contexts of the original objects (top-ics: Roman Death, Roman Religion, and Roman Families).

Small Objects Additional objects will be introduced intoexisting displays, such as inscribed amulets (topic: Ro-man Religion), lamps, bricks and manufacturer’s stamps(topic: Roman Life).

3. Cockerell Building: In a structurally reinforced area near theMain Entrance, a large inscription (ca. 60x 110cm, ca. 350kg)honouring a Roman veteran will be installed on a speciallydesigned mount (topic: Roman Army).

b Social Media

1. Progress reports on the project, and short studies of stoneswith interesting histories are published regularly on our blogReading,Writing, Romans (www.ashmolean.org/ashwpress/latininscriptions). Blogs are intended for enthusiasts but notnecessarily epigraphic specialists, and technical terminologyis glossed. Vodcasts (video podcasts) sometimes replaceblogs, where members of the AshLI team provide commen-tary over a short film, edited in-house.

www.ashmolean.org/ashwpress/latininscriptions

www.ashmolean.org/ashwpress/latininscriptions


2. We use our Twitter handle @AshmoleanLatin primarily toadvertise the release of a new blog. Our followers includea variety of people self-identifying as epigraphers, archae-ologists, and classicists, as well as a number of institutions(including museums), and general history enthusiasts. Wehave been pleasantly surprised by the number of school Clas-sics departments who have followed us, and who appearto use Twitter as part of their enrichment programme, byretweeting Roman-related news for their pupils. We havealso found that establishing support from other users is es-sential in securing traffic and followers for our tweets: espe-cially useful has been the support of the main AshmoleanMuseum feed, Oxford Classics Outreach Officer Mai Musié,Warwick Epigraphy, and EAGLE, who retweet our newsitems.

c Museum Sessions

1. School Sessions: A major legacy after the end of the projectwill be the school sessions designed to incorporate the newdisplays, and to communicate findings fromAshLI’s researchto visiting groups. These are being designed by AshLI andthe Ashmolean Education team, and will be administered,delivered and monitored by the Education team. It is hopedthat the new sessions, tried-and-tested by our pilot schools,will increase the currently low number of groups coming forRoman-themed visits.

2. AshLI will also provide support for secondary teachers whowish to use more archaeology in their classroom teaching.An INSETday is alreadyplanned at theAshmolean forNovem-ber 2014 in conjunction with JACT (Joint Association of Clas-sical Teachers), atwhichWarwick andOxford staffwill demon-strate how sculpture, coins and inscriptions can be used inthe teaching of Classical Civilization, Latin and History.

3. Amajor family event, ‘Death in Rome’ is planned in conjunc-tion with the Ashmolean Education team and bothWarwickand Oxford postgraduate helpers, to coincide with the Feastof Parentalia in 2016. The new inscriptions on displaywill beshowcased in ‘focus tours’ on Roman burial and commemo-


rative practices. Other events on the day will include a craftworkshop making ancestor masks, story-telling of Aeneas’trip to the Underworld, guided tours and a public lecture.

d Teaching Resources Online

1. Pilot Study: Teaching resources are being devised accordingto the topics requested by our surveyed schools, and testedby themand their pupils in a pilot studyduring the academicyear 2014-15. After this, any necessary changes will be madeand the resources will be made available online.

2. Online availability: In order to optimise the use of the newresources, AshLI will place its worksheets, digital images,video clips and other resources in three locations: the AshLIproject page; the Ashmolean Education Resources pages;and theTimes Education Supplement (TES)Connect resourcesportal. This is a highly popular, national hub for the ex-change of teaching materials, and AshLI is able to take ad-vantage of Oxford’s position as a featured partner on the site.

14.5. At the end of our first year – what we’ve learnedAlthough at an early stage of our project, we have already learned agreat deal about some of the challenges facing an epigraphic engage-ment project. We would make the following recommendations to anysimilar projects:

1. Do find out exactly what your target users want by asking themdirectly. In answering our survey, every school requested Roman-life topics. Not one asked for teaching resources on ligatures,serifs or Latin cursive. Epigraphic topics can be introduced, butbest within the context of a familiar topic.

2. Do know the syllabus and curriculum requirements of your targetschools.

3. Do engage schools and user groups from the beginning. Not onlydoes it ensure the success of your resources as they develop, butit improves goodwill towards your institution(s), and generatesgood press. Many schools are extremely good at celebrating newprojects, trips and experiences in their newsletters, websites andeven in local press.


4. Do integrate your resources and museum sessions into the ex-isting provision by your museum’s Education team. They haveexpertise in what works, what people expect, and can keep theprogramme going after your project has finished. Offer to pro-vide their staff with study sessions on any new material that youintroduce into the museum so that they are familiar with it.

5. Don’t expect to save an entire epigraphic collection from storageand put it on display. Space is often at a premium in museums,and in-house protocols can be very strict about cluttering wallsand floors. Be realistic about how many objects will be allowed,and consider which inscriptions ‘double-up’, i.e. can be used forteaching multiple topics.

6. Do ask your museum about the structural limitations of floors,walls and cases, which may not be suitable for displaying stones.Youmay have to decide between changing your plans and payingfor their reinforcement.

7. Don’t expect users to come directly to your project pages via theaddress bar. Use sites which already attract high traffic to directattention to your work. For example, use EAGLE to engage userswith your catalogue, use TESConnect for your teaching resources,and take advantage of Twitter to advertise blogs and upcomingmuseum events.

8. Don’t expect teachers to be comfortable pronouncing Latinwords.Theymayneed an additional crib sheet to help them feel confidentin discussing an inscription with their class.

9. Don’t expect the public to be excited by inscriptions in isolation.You may need to combine themwith other forms of evidence andactivities which illustrate the same phenomenon.

We would be happy to hear from colleagues engaged in, or planning,similar projects. Enquiries may be directed, in the first instance, [email protected].

Bibliography

Chandler, R., R. W. P. C. Howe, University of Oxford, and Galleries(1763). Marmora Oxoniensia. Oxonii: e typographeo Clarendoniano.Impensis academiae.

AcknowledgmentsAshLI gratefully acknowledges the support of the following institu-tions:

• Arts and Humanities Research Council

• The University of Warwick

• The Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents, University ofOxford

• Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology

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