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

• Applicant: Dr. Barbara Sielhorst
• Subject Area: Classical, Roman, Christian and Islamic Archaeology
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 524436111

The project aims to systematically record and analyse for the first time the visualisations produced in the archaeological research of the Palatine in Rome from the early modern period to the beginning of the 21st century, as well as their techniques and methods. The aim is to make a fundamental contribution to the practice of pictorial documentation and reconstruction as practices of knowledge production, which, in addition to new information on the monument itself, will also contribute fundamental insights into the history of science. Unlike previous studies on individual monuments or genres of visualisations of ancient Rome, the project is concerned with a larger topographical complex and the handling of pictorial documentation in archaeological research processes. The temporal framework is broad and ranges from the first plans and views of the Palatine in the early modern period to current computer-assisted methods of image production. Due to the long period of investigation, changes and breaks in the images become clearly visible and enable an analysis of the factors responsible for them. In addition, the long-term perspective of the project also makes it possible to examine the influence of earlier images on the visualisations that followed them, thus answering the question of how image conventions emerge, change and leave a lasting mark on the research questions and results. As a central analytical tool, a geo-information system on the visualisation history of the Palatin ("PalatinGIS") will be set up within iDAI.world parallel to the analytical monograph. It enables the comprehensible comparison and evaluation of the already existing extensive data collection (approx. 1,700 digital copies) from private and institutional archive holdings. The GIS will be made accessible according to FAIR principles and will be freely available for further research after the project. In the course of its construction, there will also be an opportunity to critically reflect on the heuristic added value of digital data processing.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants