Greek and Coptic papyri preserved in the sands of Egypt are one of our main sources
for Classical and early Christian literature as well as for the ancient History of the
eastern Mediterranean world from the Hellenistic period to the Middle Ages. However,
the texts are often incomplete, broken accidentally during the course of time or
intentionally, two small pieces being more valuable than a single larger one on the
antiquities market. Palaeography, as the study of ancient writings, has two main fields
of application: one is to identify the specific handwriting of one individual over several
fragments. The second is to provide dating arguments in the absence of other criteria,
Greek and Coptic scripts having evolved over time. The present research project aims
to lay the foundation for an online interface through which papyrologists would be able
to look for similar – or identical – handwritings to a given papyrus and typical samples
of writings for a given period. To reach this ambitious goal, this project will first focus
on three delimitated and complementary case studies: the papyri containing Homer’s
Iliad, the archive of Dioscorus of Aphrodito (6th c. A.D.) which is the richest archive of
the Byzantine period and the Coptic archive of Papas which were found broken in a jar
and thus are a real jigsaw puzzle.
Greek and Coptic papyri preserved in the sands of Egypt are one of our main sourcesfor Classical and early Christian literature as well as for the ancient History of theeastern Mediterranean world from the Hellenistic period to the Middle Ages. However,the texts are often incomplete, broken accidentally during the course of time orintentionally, two small pieces being more valuable than a single larger one on theantiquities market. Palaeography, as the study of ancient writings, has two main fieldsof application: one is to identify the specific handwriting of one individual over severalfragments. The second is to provide dating arguments in the absence of other criteria,Greek and Coptic scripts having evolved over time. The present research project aimsto lay the foundation for an online interface through which papyrologists would be ableto look for similar – or identical – handwritings to a given papyrus and typical samplesof writings for a given period. To reach this ambitious goal, this project will first focuson three delimitated and complementary case studies: the papyri containing Homer’sIliad, the archive of Dioscorus of Aphrodito (6th c. A.D.) which is the richest archive ofthe Byzantine period and the Coptic archive of Papas which were found broken in a jarand thus are a real jigsaw puzzle.
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