Alphabetic Paleography Explorer

Research

Alphabetic Paleography Explorer (APEX)

APEX is a research environment for the quantitative study of alphabetic writing. It integrates manual tracing, geometric feature extraction, and structured metadata to analyze how letterforms change across languages, regions, and materials. The system links visual measurement with cultural context, treating each inscription as both an artifact and a dataset.

The current corpus includes more than 4,000 Greek letterforms, including a complete regional set of 209 lead tablets from Styra on Euboea—one of the most detailed local paleographic corpora compiled to date.

Recent work

  • Completion of APEX 1.9.1, introducing direction-aware annotation, multilingual dictionaries, and museum-API metadata import.
  • Quantitative modeling of symmetry, curvature, and complexity across Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, and early Byzantine Greek corpora.

In development

  • Expansion to additional Greek regions and comparative Semitic scripts.
  • Cross-script alignment and geometric normalization for multi-modal imaging data.

MAPP (Multi-Atlas Projection Protocol)

MAPP develops computational methods for projecting curved or irregular inscriptions into accurate, analyzable 2D form.
The protocol combines photogrammetry, RTI, and geometric modeling to minimize distortion and preserve local spatial relationships among letters.

In development

  • Pilot projections of Aramaic incantation bowls validated against photogrammetric datasets.
  • Integration with APEX for curvature-corrected feature extraction.
  • Development of a reproducible workflow linking 2D and 3D imaging environments.
  • Interoperability standards between MAPP outputs and APEX analytical modules.

AlphaBase

AlphaBase is a database linking various collections (corpora, journal publications, museum data) to computational analysis. It consolidates alphabetic inscriptions from multiple institutions into a unified schema compatible with APEX and MAPP, enabling cross-collection, cross-script comparison.

Recent work

  • Cataloguing and verification of hundreds of accession-linked inscriptions through API exports and manual metadata uploads.
  • Metadata harmonization with APEX data fields, including language, material, direction, and context.
  • Expansion to bilingual and non-Greek corpora.

In development

  • Multi-institutional integration and linked 2D/3D visualization of inscriptions.
  • Prototype search interface supporting queries by script, region, or imaging source.

Broader Aim

Together, these projects form a unified framework for studying alphabetic transmission—the processes through which writing systems are adapted, standardized, and transformed.

The combined 2D–3D imaging and analytical infrastructure supports reproducible, responsible, data-driven paleography while maintaining attention to the material and historical realities of inscribed artifacts.