The International Etruscan Sigla Project (IESP) Florida State University Department of Classics and...

The International Etruscan Sigla Project (IESP) Florida State UniversityDepartment of Classics

and

Department of Computer Science Presented by Dr. David A. Gaitros

Some images in this presentation are taken from the exhibition catalog, Cetamura Antica,

Traditions of Chianti, ed. Nancy T. de Grummond, 2000.

04/19/23 Background image from www.oldworldartisans.com

The IESP FSU Team

• Dr. Nancy T. de Grummond– Head P.I. for the research project– M. Lynette Thompson Professor of

Classics – Research and teaching specialties

• Etruscan and Roman archaeology • Etruscan and Roman Myth, Religion and

Magic • Art and Archaeology of the Hellenistic

World • Ancient Carved Gems

– Research Projects in Progress• Ritual Sacrifice in Etruscan Religion • Prophets and Divination as represented in

ancient art (Greek, Etruscan and Roman) • Etruscan Systems of Writing

04/19/23 Background image from www.oldworldartisans.com 2

The IESP FSU Team (cont)

• Dr. David A. Gaitros– Co-P.I. – Research Associate, Department of

Computer Science• Student Research Associates

– Aaron Brown, Junior in the Honors Program

– Jane Gagne, Junior in the Honors Program – Megan Murphy, Senior, Classical

Archaeology Major– Alex Segers, Senior in the Honors Program– Robin Watson, Junior in the Honors

Program– Cassidy Phelps, Junior Greek and Latin

major


Other Participants

• University of Massachusetts Amherst– Anthony Tuck– Rex Wallace

• University of Milan– Giovanna Bagnasco Gianni– Stefano Valtelino– Alessandra Gobbi– Nicola Scoccimarro


Research Abstract

• The International Etruscan Sigla Project (IESP) aims to assemble documentation on the thousands of examples of Etruscan nonverbal writing (sigla) of one or more letters, numbers or symbols, dating from around 700 BCE to the first century BCE, which were incised, painted or stamped on objects of many different types made of clay, metal, bone, ivory and stone. These markings, discovered on numerous Etruscan archaeological sites, are normally relegated to the background in Etruscan studies in favor of letters that form words and can therefore be studied from a linguistic perspective. In order to investigate the potential of communication in these markings, IESP will create a data base of sigla that aims to recognize and group similar items by means of matching scanned images and other factors such as date, provenance, context, artifact type, artifact function, and location of the mark on the artifact. An international team from the US and Italy —archaeologists and computer scientists, professors and students—will meet and share research and will experiment to develop terminology, methodology and software in multiple languages for the new systematic tool.


What is an “Etruscan” ?

“An Etruscan is a person who belonged to a group of people who lived in Etruria (modern Tuscany), a part of the Italian Peninsula prior to the establishment of the Roman Empire (1100 – 500 B.C). “The World Book Encyclopedia, 1966, Field Enterprise Educational Corporation , Chicago


04/19/23 Background image from www.oldworldartisans.com

Map taken from commons.wikimedia.org

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• What is a “Sigla” ?

– Sigla: From the Oxford English Dictionary, Editorial designations of versions of an early literary text, esp. those used in the preparation of an edition. Also sing. siglum.

– In this project, Sigla references the non-verbal “graffiti” which are letters, numbers, or symbols found on Etruscan artifacts and structures.

– It’s also a town in Poland.....


The Goal of the Research Group

• Find and catalog as many of the existing Etruscan “Sigla” as possible.

• To attempt to find the meaning(s) of these “Sigla” and how they were used to communicate in Etruscan Society.

• To create a dictionary of these “Sigla” for use by other scholars in discovering more details of the Etruscan society and culture.


Image how scholars would react in 2000 years if they were to excavate the subways of New York City and attempt to decipher the hundreds of examples of graffiti on the walls?

How would they go about determining the meaning?

How do we determine the meaning of modern day graffiti?

04/19/23Background image from

www.mysteriousetruscans.com/

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The Challenges of the Research Project

• Etruscan Sigla represents an informal language or form of communication.

• Sigla have the potential for ambiguous/multiple meanings.

• The symbols were hand-scribed onto artifacts and structures– “Handwriting” variations– Deciphering different scribing

techniques could hamper symbol identification

– Even determining if the orientation of the symbol


• The meanings of the Sigla could change over the course of decades or centuries.

• The following are additional challenges: – Estimated date that the symbol was

scribed is important– Town or region where the symbol

was found is important. – Town or region where the symbol

was created is important– Context of where the symbol was

used/found is important: • Wall, pottery in a kitchen, lavatory

wall, market square, walk way, etc – Was the symbol placed on the

object during construction or after?


Sigla Examples




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Cat. No. 86. Handle of a pitcher, unpainted, with a siglum of a cross mark and two lines, probably a numeral (either 8 or 12). Found at Cetamura in the cistern Structure B.3rd-2nd century BCE. Length 6.8 cm.

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Cat. No. 101. Fragment of a black-gloss vessel with thesiglum of a five-pointed star. Found at Cetamura in the Artisans’ Quarter near the kiln Structure K. 3rd-2nd cent. BCE.3.9 x 2.7.

Cat. No. 102. Base of an unpainted vessel with thesiglum of a five-pointed star. Found at Cetamura in the Artisans’ Quarter near the kiln Structure K. 3rd-2nd cent. BCE.Diam. of base 4.8 cm.

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Cat. No. 103. Fragment of a pan with the siglum of a tree. Found at Cetamura near Structure D. Date unknown. Diam. of rim ca. 18 cm.

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Etruscan Numerals



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Etruscan Alphabet



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Research Activities

• Research Group establish and holding regular meetings (Friday, 11:30)

• Establish collaboration with U of Mass. Amherst and U of Milan

• Submitted an NEH grant proposal• Developing a CRC grant proposal• Working with CEN4010 students

and Dr. Ted Baker on Requirements Document

• Establishing web site for dissemination of information on research objectives and status.



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Long Term Activities

• Develop initial set of requirements• Get the international community to

agree on requirements and establish data standards

• Hold workshops to team-build and get consensus on the project

• Produce scholarly work to get feedback from a larger audience

• Develop software specifications and design

• Investigate the use of current technologies and methods to help catalog, retrieve, and analyze the information.



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Research Obstacles

• Very long term project, will take years to produce results.

• No existing accepted data standards.

• Current databases are archaic and too simplistic for complex analysis

• Current databases are not maintained in a production environment



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• Analysis of the Sigla is still very much an art. – Must produce heuristics based upon

practices within the Classics and Archaeological Community to analyze data.

– Use technology and science analyze data that would have taken years to accomplish manually.

• Pattern matching• Data mining• Fuzzy logic

• Must find a flexible method to store, retrieve, find, and compare the different symbols.



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• Plan on using the technology developed by MorphBank – Storing an cataloging images, fonts,

and symbols– Vectorize symbols for pattern matching– Security to allow scholars to develop

their research before publication– Advanced search and query techiques– Unlimited annotations– Creation of individual and public

collections– Support virtual museums– Provide an atmosphere of

collaboration and exchange of information



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Largest obstacleA fully functional commercial

quality “Sigla” image/symbol database must be established before the significant research

can begin



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Domande?



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