Epigraphic Database Heidelberg (EDH)

Chair of the Commission

Head of the Research Project

Research Staff

Address

The research project was initially established in 1986 and scheduled to run for five years in the framework of the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Programme. As of 1991 its continuation was funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation and since 1993 has been a Research Unit of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Its aim is to compile a database of Latin inscriptions from the Imperium Romanum providing a verified reading and geographical grouping of the epigraphic documents. This places the EDH in line with other international database projects designed (a) to facilitate the collection, inspection, extension and interdisciplinary evaluation of epigraphic testimonies, (b) to enable the compilation of KWIC indexes and (c) to form the basis for new corpora.

At present the database encompasses over 56,000 inscriptions. The information on inscriptions and inscription carriers contained in it has been accessible to the public via the Internet since September 1997 (in part) and since September 2002 in its entirety. In the medium term there are also plans afoot to ensure online availability for the Epigraphic Bibliography Heidelberg (EBH) and the contents of the Epigraphic Photo Library Heidelberg (EFH) with the essential references to the inscriptions displayed there. The number of photos accessible on the Internet is also being constantly enlarged. In this unified form the inscription texts and the photographic documentation will provide users with the opportunity to compare the readings of the texts with the epigraphic testimonies themselves.

In 2003 under the auspices of the Commissione epigrafia e informatica of AIEGL (Association Internationale d’Epigraphie Grecque et Latine) the decision was taken to proceed with the establishment of the international epigraphic database federation EAGLE (Electronic Archives of Greek and Latin Epigraphy) modelled on the EDH. The ultimate objective of this federation is to make all the Latin and Greek inscriptions of antiquity available on the Internet on the basis of standardised criteria.

Go to www.epigraphische-datenbank-heidelberg.de for more information on the Research Project.