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Palatine, Rome


From hand drawing to digital model. The Palatine in Rome as a case study for knowledge generation in archaeology

Contact: Dr. Barbara Sielhorst



The Palatine as the ‘cradle’ of Rome aroused the interest of antiquarians, excavators and artists early on. This research project focuses on how the challenge of visually documenting and reconstructing the Palatine's more than 10 ha of ancient buildings and numerous finds was met, which techniques and methods were utilised and how the resulting images were used to create and pass on knowledge.

The project deals with the handling of pictorial documentation in archaeological research processes on the basis of a larger topographical complex. The time frame is broad and ranges from the first plans and views of the Palatine in the Early Modern Period to current computer-aided methods of image production.
Due to the long period of investigation, changes and breaks in the images come to light and make it possible to analyse the factors responsible for this. In addition, the long-term perspective of the project also makes it possible to examine the influence of earlier images on the visualisations created after them, thus answering the question of how pictorial conventions emerge, change and have a lasting impact on research questions and results. In this way, the project not only generates new information on the Palatine and its research history, but also makes a fundamental contribution to the practice of pictorial documentation and reconstruction as practices of knowledge production in archaeology.

Parallel to the analytical monograph, a geoinformation system for the visualisation history of the Palatine (‘PalatinGIS’) is being set up within iDAI.world as a central analysis tool. It enables the comprehensible comparison and evaluation of the extensive data collection already available (approx. 1,700 digitised images) from private and institutional archives. The GIS will be made accessible in accordance with the FAIR principles and will be freely available for further research following the project. In the course of its development, there will also be the opportunity to critically reflect on the heuristic added value of digital data processing.


Project Lead

Dr. Barbara Sielhorst
Classical Archaeology
Institute of Archaeological Studies
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Am Bergbaumuseum 31, 44791 Bochum
Room: 428 (4. Etage)
Email: Barbara.Sielhorst@rub.de


Staff Members

Anja Wolf (Student Staff "PalatinGIS")


Publications
  • V. Santoro – B. Sielhorst, I Borbone sul colle degli imperatori. Nuove scoperte sugli Orti Farnesiani al Palatino dall’Archivio di Stato di Napoli, in: Grand’A. Revista semestrale di arte, archivi e architettura, 2023/1, 88–95.
  • V. Santoro – B. Sielhorst – L. Terzi, I Borbone sul Palatino: Documenti inediti sugli Ort Farnesiani dal 1731 al 1861, RM 128, 2022, 432–471, https://doi.org/10.34780/b73c-7bd6
  • B. Sielhorst, The Palatine Hill in Rome and its history of research in the 19th century. A report on the latest ›excavations‹ in the archives of Rome. Season 2021, eDAI-F 2021-2, § 1–9, https://doi.org/10.34780/1gda-oqx1
  • B. Sielhorst, Fernpraktika am DAI – ein neues Format zur Nachwuchsförderung. Die Fernpraktika des Jahres 2020 und der ersten Jahreshälfte 2021, eDAI-F 2021-1, § 1–5, https://doi.org/10.34780/q611-64bf

Cooperation Partners and Financial Support

The project is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (project no. 524436111) and takes place in cooperation with the German Archaeological Institute.