Imaging Papyri
Available
Director
- Dirk Obbink
Description
From the project website (accessed 2019-08-06):
The Imaging Papyri project generates digitised images of Greek and Latin papyri at Oxford and Naples, for the creation of an Oxford online database of digitised images of papyri. The newly digitised versions of the literary texts have been and will continue to be published.
The papyri are also used for teaching purposes and provide material for dissertations. At the same time, digital imaging technologies offer a wide range of possibilities for improved readings. Digital images of the papyri can be enhanced for further legibility; this data can then be indefinitely stored for future use and dissemination. Images can be linked to on-line versions of edited texts with translations, for simultaneous viewing, study, and improvement. The papyri, originally found together, were separated by dealers and collectors and now exist separately in numerous collections around the world.
The objective of the project is to maintain and expand its online database of digitised images of papyri, photographs, and facsimiles at Oxford, internationally renowned as a centre for the study of ancient manuscripts, making these available, as required, to collaborators and other interested parties, enabling re-combination and collation of pieces preserved in discrete locations. In addition, by using the these digital images, the delicate originals need to be consulted less frequently, aiding conservation.