A Commentary on the Peutinger Map

• Applicants: Privatdozentin Dr. Silke Diederich; Professor Dr. Michael Rathmann
• Subject Area: Ancient History ; Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies ; Greek and Latin Philology ; Classical, Roman, Christian and Islamic Archaeology
• Term: from 2017 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 319254113

The Peutinger Map (TP), part of the UNESCO world heritage, is acase sui generis in the history of cartography. This parchment scroll,drawn about 1200 AD, is a replica of a late antique original. As it is theonly large-size map that passed down from antiquity, it is evident, howessential its analysis is to understand concepts of space in antiquity.Unique in the first place is its whimsical dimensions: Being about 6,80m long, but only 33 cm high, it represents the oikumene from Spain toIndia with extreme distortions. Here we can grasp the elusive antiquetradition of not-to-scale maps, originating from outside the highly elitistschools of mathematical geography, allowing an unparalleled insightinto the geographical knowledge of a somewhat larger audienceamong Rome`s upper classes. Due to its singularity it has been thesubject of a lively discussion for 250 years, fueled by the spatial turnwith its incentives to pay attention to forms and concepts of spacewithin their cultural backgrounds throughout the sciences.Controversies exist most notably about date of origin and stages ofdevelopment, relations to other maps and written geographicalsources, design, correctness and functionality, mistakes in copyingand medieval modifications. This set of problems necessitates an up-to-date commentary on the roughly 4000 toponyms in order to providea base for future research. This desideratum has been remindedrepeatedly, as the outdated, incomplete and faulty works ofDesjardins and Miller and even the Barrington Atlas require additionand correction. This need is to be met by the projected commentary,planned to be issued right from the beginning as an interactive openaccess internet database, which is going to be updated andcomplemented continuously. The premises and the methodical accesschosen for comment and analysis will be innovative in severalregards, because many of the prevailing opinions concerning dating,sources and purpose will be challenged, first of all by dating theprototype of the TP as far back as into the early Hellenistic period; ifthis hypothesis proves right, history of ancient cartography will have tobe rewritten, as the TP would have to be assessed not as a result ofGreek-Roman cartographic tradition, but rather as the product of anearly stage in that line of development. Moreover, suspending onefixed date of origin, the TP shall rather be understood as a work in progress, during whose stages of development purpose and functionmight have shifted with the changing cultural and historicalbackgrounds. Based on modern spatial theories the TP shall beevaluated as a document of human culture, which illustrates, how thisparticular form of representing a geographic, and at the same timesocial, politic and religious space has been used through the ages asa repository of knowledge and a medium of memoria, which will allowto draw conclusions about forms of generating and transmittingknowledge in general.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants