Cultural Heritage Imaging & Innovation Conference 2025

Day 1, March 26, 2025 - “Archimedes and Others: The Remarkable History of a Manuscript”

This talk is largely autobiographical, starting from a casual conversation with a colleague some fifty years ago.  This led to a brief examination of a fragment from a palimpsest in the Cambridge University Library, which  revealed something interesting. But how was the discovery to be exploited?  Chance intervened, and after some unforeseeable events, including the recovery of the manuscript from which the Cambridge fragment had been detached, a team of experts was assembled to study it.  This led to a notable publication.  Yet there is still room for further refinement of the results achieved a few years ago.

Professor Nigel Wilson, Fellow and Tutor in Classics, Lincoln College, Oxford (retired), nigel.wilson@lincoln.ox.ac.uk

Day 1, March 26, 2025 - "Multispectral Imaging of the Archimedes Palimpsest"

Abstract:

The technology of multispectral imaging for studies of manuscripts grew from rather crude imaging systems and processing in the 1990s to a much higher level of sophistication in the 2020s. The Archimedes Palimpsest project, which ran from 2000-2011, straddled these two eras rather precisely. This talk presents the history of the imaging methods used on the palimpsest, including some discussion of the value that could be anticipated from additional imaging using the most recently developed illumination systems, camera lenses and sensors,  and processing methods.

Roger Easton led the Imaging Team in the Archimedes Palimpsest project. In this role, he was responsible for assembling the imaging system, transporting it to the imaging site, ensuring prompt processing of the imaging data, and distributing the results to the scholars in Europe and the USA.

Dr. Roger L. Easton, Jr., Professor, Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology, rlepci@rit.edu 

Day 2, March 27, 2025 - "Lost and Rediscovered: The Contribution of the Sinai Palimpsests to the Study of the Past"

The last twenty years have witnessed a huge change in the study of the ancient and medieval world(s), marked by the implementation of digital technologies, which are becoming more and more present every day. What was once unthinkable is now possible. A very good example is the non-destructive recovery of illegible texts from palimpsest manuscripts, which allows us to expand our knowledge of the written sources from the past.

This lecture will be devoted to a pioneering project in this field: the Sinai Palimpsest Projects of the Early Manuscripts Electronic Library (EMEL) and the Monastery of Saint Catherine, the first project to deal with the imaging and study of the entire collection of palimpsests preserved in one location, taking into account manuscripts written in several different languages. By means of case studies I will illustrate the results of the project and their significance for the scholarly community, and I will emphasise the importance of collaboration between scholars and scientists as the real recipe for success in this endeavour.

Ass. Prof. Dr. Giulia Rossetto, University of Vienna, Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, giulia.rossetto@univie.ac.at

• Latest monograph, published in 2023: Greek Palimpsests at Saint Catherine’s Monastery (Sinai). Three Euchologia as Case Studies.
• https://verlag.oeaw.ac.at/produkt/greek-palimpsests-at-saint-catherine-s-monastery-sinai/99200900?name=greek-palimpsests-at-saint-catherine-s-monastery-sinai&product_form=4667

Day 2, March 27 - Lost and Rediscovered: The Contribution of the Sinai Palimpsests Project to the Use of MSI for Text Recovery

Abstract:

The Sinai Palimpsests Project occupies a unique place in the emergence of multispectral imaging (MSI) as the go-to technology to recover illegible text on historical source materials.  Following on the heels of the imaging of the Archimedes Palimpsest and preceding the marketization of advanced MSI systems for cultural heritage applications, the Sinai Palimpsests Project provided six years of imaging activity in which innovations from the Archimedes Palimpsest could be realized in viable MSI systems for broad use.  The project was almost strangely ambitious in applying MSI to a large collection of palimpsests in an isolated desert monastery.  In this lecture, I will review the challenges encountered by the Sinai Palimpsests Project and its contributions to applying MSI to cultural heritage.  I will also point to unresolved questions for future development. 

Michael Phelps, Executive Director, Early Manuscripts Electronic Library (EMEL), and Director, Sinai Palimpsests Project