6–7 October 2023
University of Bern, Switzerland
We are pleased to announce the program of the hybrid conference «Digital Archaeology Bern – Ancient West Asia» that takes place 6–7 October 2023 at the University of Bern (Switzerland). The registration for on-site and online participation is now open.
The conference brings together Archaeologists, Philologists, and Digital Humanists to present their state-of-the-art research and discuss the future of archaeological and philological studies within the broader framework of the Digital Humanities.
The conference is organised by the Department of Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology and the Digital Humanities of the University of Bern in collaboration with the Swiss Society for Ancient Near Eastern Studies (SGOA), the Bern Computational and Digital Archaeology Lab, and the Data Science Lab of the University of Bern.
PROGRAM
Time according to UTC +2
Friday, 6 October 2023
Opening
Uni Mittelstrasse | Room 224 + Zoom
1:00 pm — Registration & Coffee
2:15 pm — Welcome Note
1st Session: eGlyptics
Uni Mittelstrasse | Room 224 + Zoom
Chair: Eythan Levy (University of Bern)
2:30 pm — Elisa Roßberger (Free University of Berlin)
Pictures to Words to Data. Annotating, indexing and linking in the project “Annotated Corpus of Ancient West Asian Imagery: Cylinder Seals”
(read abstract)
3:00 pm — Eythan Levy (University of Bern)
The Artifacts Analyzer. A Simple Tool for Computer-Assisted Analysis of Glyptic and Other Artifacts
(read abstract)
3:30 pm — Stefan Münger (University of Bern)
From Paper to Bytes. The New Digital Corpus of Stamp-Seals from the Southern Levant
(read abstract)
4:00 pm — Coffee Break
2nd Session: Data Bases & Research Environments
Uni Mittelstrasse | Room 224 + Zoom
Chair: Stephen Hart (University of Bern)
4:30 pm — Mareke Johanne Ubben (German Archaeological Institute), Lee Clare (German Archaeological Institute), and Onur Şefer Özbalaban (German Archaeological Institute)
Research Data Management at the Istanbul Department of the German Archaeological Institute
(read abstract)
5:00 pm — Miller Prosser (University of Chicago) and Andrew Wright (University of Chicago)
Digital Archaeology and Philology in the Online Cultural and Historical Research Environment
(read abstract)
5:30 pm — Transition to keynote lecture venue
Keynote lecture
Antikensammlung Bern + Zoom
6:15 pm — Adam Anderson (University of California, Berkeley)
A Working Ontology for Cuneiform Tablets
(read abstract)
7:30 pm — Welcome Apéro
Speakers’ Dinner
8:00 pm — Dinner (for invited speakters only)
Saturday, 7 October 2023
3rd Session: Pots, Paper & Plants
Uni Mittelstrasse | Room 224 + Zoom
Chair: tba
9:30 am — Sophia Marxer (University of Bern & University of Marburg)
Network Analysis of Ancient Pottery. Examples with Hellenistic Pottery from Cilicia
(read abstract)
10:00 am — Fabrizio Bätscher (University of Bern), Silvana Hunger (University of Bern) and Sophia Marxer (University of Bern & University of Marburg)
Decoding an Old Excavation. Digital Reprocessing, Analysis, and Sustainable Management of Analog Data from the 1990s Sirkeli Höyük Excavations
(read abstract)
10:30 am — Joe Roe (University of Bern)
Modelling the Range of Wild Plants and Crop Progenitors in the Late Epipalaeolithic – Early Neolithic Levant
(read abstract)
11:00 am — Coffee Break
4th Session: Digital Egyptology
Uni Mittelstrasse | Room 224 + Zoom
Chair: tba
11:30 am — Evgenia Filimonov (University of Haifa), Shirly Ben-Dor Evian (University of Haifa), and Inna Kizhner (University of Haifa & Siberian Federal University)
Uncovering Hidden Relations. Exploring Social Rank through 3D Models of Egyptian Tombs
(read abstract)
12:00 pm — Isabelle Marthot-Santaniello (University of Basel)
Greek Papyri and Computers. The New Perspectives Offered by Current Technological Advances
(read abstract)
12:30 pm — Brown Bag Lunch Break (for invited speakers and registered participants)
5th Session: Geography & Travel
Uni Mittelstrasse | Room 224 + Zoom
Chair: tba
2:00 pm — Domizia Paolucci (Sapienza University of Rome) and Nicola Lanzaro (Sapienza University of Rome)
Route Analysis and Connections in Sub-Optimal Areas. The Other Perspective on the Levantine Ealry Bronze Age
(read abstract)
2:30 pm — Sebastian Borkowski (University of Bern)
Unbraiding the Rivers of Southern Mesopotamia. Network Analysis of the Historic Geography of the Ur III State
(read abstract)
3:00 pm — Elias Zimmermann (University of Lausanne)
More than a “Winter in Vorderasien”. The Digital Edition of Annemarie Schwarzenbach’s Work and its Account of Archaeological Sites and Expeditions in West Asia between 1933 and 1939
(read abstract)
3:30 pm — Coffee Break
Discussions
Uni Mittelstrasse | Room 224 + Zoom
4:00 pm — Unconference Panels (public vote on panels on 6 October 2023)
5:00 pm — Final Discussion
5:45 pm — Concluding Remarks
Communal Dinner
Uni Mittelstrasse | Mensa
7:30 pm — Dinner (for invited speakers and registered participants)
VENUE
The conference takes place at Uni Mittelstrasse (Mittelstrasse 43, CH-3012 Bern). The keynote lecture on 6 October 2023, 6:15 pm, is hosted at the Antikensammlung Bern (Hallerstrasse 12, CH-3012 Bern).
REGISTRATION
Please register at https://www.dh.unibe.ch/forschung/workshops_und_talks/digital_archaeology_bern/registration/registration_form/index_ger.html for on-site and/or online participation.
- Participation is free of charge
- Registration is mandatory
- Registered participants will receive a Zoom invitation by e-mail on 2 October 2023
Registration deadline: 30 September 2023
CALL FOR UNCONFERENCE PANELS
On 7 October 2023, all registered participants have the chance to pitch a topic in our unconference panels. Panels should be related to the general theme of the conference. Pitches should not exceed 5 minutes and will be followed by 25 minutes of discussion. The definitive public vote on the panels is on 6 October 2023 in course of the conference.
For proposing a panel, please send an abstract (150–300 words) and information on your academic degree and affiliation to sebastian.borkowski@unibe.ch.
Submission deadline for abstracts is 30 September 2023.