scholarly journals Ancient Greek text concealed on the back of unrolled papyrus revealed through shortwave-infrared hyperspectral imaging

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (10) ◽  
pp. eaav8936 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Tournié ◽  
K. Fleischer ◽  
I. Bukreeva ◽  
F. Palermo ◽  
M. Perino ◽  
...  

Only a few Herculaneum rolls exhibit writing on their reverse side. Since unrolled papyri are permanently glued to paperboard, so far, this fact was known to us only from 18th-century drawings. The application of shortwave-infrared (SWIR; 1000-2500 nm) hyperspectral imaging (HSI) to one of them (PHerc. 1691/1021) has revealed portions of Greek text hidden on the back more than 220 years after their first discovery, making it possible to recover this primary source for the ongoing new edition of this precious book. SWIR HSI has produced better contrast and legibility even on the extensive text preserved on the front compared to former imaging of Herculaneum papyri at 950 nm (improperly called multispectral imaging), with a substantial impact on the text reconstruction. These promising results confirm the importance of advanced techniques applied to ancient carbonized papyri and open the way to a better investigation of hundreds of other such papyri.

Author(s):  
Josiah Ober

This chapter presents the text of a lecture on the growing popularity of Greek democracy as a topic in school and university curricula. It argues that that the modern penchant for reading the meaning of democracy through the lens of the authoritative institutions of government has had a substantial impact on the way ancient Greek democracy has been understood. It suggests that the study of the ancient Athenian democracy should be conducted with a cultural/ideological approach rather than a constitutional approach.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-134
Author(s):  
Agung Perdana Kusuma

In the 18th century, although the Dutch Company controlled most of the archipelago, the Netherlands also experienced a decline in trade. This was due to the large number of corrupt employees and the fall in the price of spices which eventually created the VOC. Under the rule of H.W. Daendels, the colonial government began to change the way of exploitation from the old conservative way which focused on trade through the VOC to exploitation managed by the government and the private sector. Ulama also strengthen their ties with the general public through judicial management, and compensation, and waqaf assets, and by leading congregational prayers and various ceremonies for celebrating birth, marriage and death. Their links with a large number of artisans, workers (workers), and the merchant elite were very influential.


Author(s):  
Eva Steiner

This chapter introduces the main constitutional institutions and mechanism governing France, taking into account the major overhaul of the 1958 Constitution in 2008. It also shows that legislation is the primary source of law in France, that there are different types of legislation, and that legislative sources are organised hierarchically. Moreover, the chapter also considers, within the constitutional framework, the legislative process and examines the way in which bills are drafted. It also seeks to familiarise readers with the layout of a French statute. In addition, this chapter shows that much of French law though not all of it is codified. Codification is a particular legislative technique common to most civil law systems.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Granlund ◽  
M. Keinänen ◽  
T. Tahvanainen

Abstract Aims Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) has high potential for analysing peat cores, but methodologies are deficient. We aimed for robust peat type classification and humification estimation. We also explored other factors affecting peat spectral properties. Methods We used two laboratory setups: VNIR (visible to near-infrared) and SWIR (shortwave infrared) for high resolution imaging of intact peat profiles with fen-bog transitions. Peat types were classified with support vector machines, indices were developed for von Post estimation, and K-means clustering was used to analyse stratigraphic patterns in peat quality. With separate experiments, we studied spectral effects of drying and oxidation. Results Despite major effects, oxidation and water content did not impede robust HSI classification. The accuracy between Carex peat and Sphagnum peat in validation was 80% with VNIR and 81% with SWIR data. The spectral humification indices had accuracies of 82% with VNIR and 56%. Stratigraphic HSI patterns revealed that 36% of peat layer shifts were inclined by over 20 degrees. Spectral indices were used to extrapolate visualisations of element concentrations. Conclusions HSI provided reliable information of basic peat quality and was useful in visual mapping, that can guide sampling for other analyses. HSI can manage large amounts of samples to widen the scope of detailed analysis beyond single profiles and it has wide potential in peat research beyond the exploratory scope of this paper. We were able to confirm the capacity of HSI to reveal shifts of peat quality, connected to ecosystem-scale change.


2009 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-62
Author(s):  
Baki Tezcan

AbstractA short chronicle by a former janissary called Tûghî on the regicide of the Ottoman Sultan Osman II in 1622 had a definitive impact on seventeenth-century Ottoman historiography in terms of the way in which this regicide was recounted. This study examines the formation of Tûghî's chronicle and shows how within the course of the year following the regicide, Tûghî's initial attitude, which recognized the collective responsibility of the military caste (kul) in the murder of Osman, evolved into a claim of their innocence. The chronicle of Tûghî is extant in successive editions of his own. A careful examination of these editions makes it possible to follow the evolution of Tûghî's narrative on the regicide in response to the historical developments in its immediate aftermath and thus witness both the evolution of a “primary source” and the gradual political sophistication of a janissary.


1997 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 413-436
Author(s):  
Chris H. Knights

AbstractThis article is the third in a series of studies on The History of the Rechabites. The first, "The Story of Zosimus or The History of the Rechabites?,"1 established the independent identity of this text within the Christian monastic work, The Story of Zosimus, and was a sort of prolegomena to the study of this text. The second, "Towards a Critical-Introduction to The History of the Rechabites,"2 sought to address the standard introductory issues, such as date, original language, provenance and purpose. The present paper seeks to examine the text verse-by-verse, and to offer a commentary on it. Or, rather, an initial commentary. No commentary of any sort has ever been offered on the Greek text of HistRech before, and it would be foolhardy to claim that any one scholar could perceive all the allusions and meanings in a particular text at a first attempt. This commentary, then, is offered in the same spirit as my two previous studies on HistRech: as a step along the way towards unravelling the meaning of this pseudepigraphon about the Rechabites, not as the last word on the subject.


Author(s):  
Mirzaeva Aziza Shavkatovna ◽  

World literature of XX century has experienced the great influence of postmodermism, which resulted in diversity of styles and refusal of well-known structures and forms. One of the most widely used stylistic devices, characterizing the features of postmodernism, is intertextuality. Appearing only in recent years, intertext become widespread with its own forms, such as allusion, quote and reminiscence. And the novel “Percy Jackson” b y American writer Rick Riordan seems to be an example of the use of intertext-allusion within the work. 12-year-old boy, Percy Jackson, becomes the part of adventeruos, danderous and exciting world of Ancient Greek Gods, legends, myths and heroes. This work tries to study and analyse the importance of allusion to understand the idea of the writer and interpret the used allusions in the first book of Riordan “Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief”.


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