The main difficulty is that we are often missing this key information, so the text could have been excessively damaged, or we might not know where it was written, or it might not mention events or names that are helping us to date it. These are extremely time-consuming and complex tasks. These might have been damaged, worn away, or moved thousands of miles from home, so this can take a very long time, and epigraphers’ knowledge is constantly updated as new information is unearthed. Or in basic terms: what does it say, where is it from and when was it written? But remember, these are ancient items or, to be technical at this point, they are inscribed supports. Epigraphers break this process broadly down into three main tasks: restoring any missing text, identifying the inscription’s original location and establishing the date the inscription was created. wait… you’ll never guess this one, trust me… studies epigraphs. She’s a type of specialist historian known an epigrapher, who. That’s Thea Sommerschield from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and the Harvard Center for Hellenic Studies. Historians study them and use them today to reconstruct the history, language, religion, mentality and politics of the ancient world. And ancient civilizations, everywhere around the world, used to write inscriptions to record everything like sacred calendars, laws, dedications, leases. So, an epigraph or an inscription is a text which has been written onto a durable surface, such as stone or metal or pottery. Who knows? The people who do know, and study these inscriptions, have a name for them: epigraphs. But they also wrote in other places – maybe an artist’s tag on the side of a pot, or words graffitied on the side of a building, or an inscription on the wall of an ancient toilet. Yes, of course, people wrote in things like books and scrolls – we know that. But one thing that can help us understand the past is what ancient people wrote down. It’s 2022 and humanity has not yet invented time travel, so that means it’s somewhat difficult to work out what people several centuries ago were up to. I’m Benjamin Thompson.įirst up, reporter Alex Lathbridge has been finding out about how an AI is deciphering ancient Greek graffiti. This week, the AI that takes on ancient Greek inscriptions.Īnd rewilding Argentina. ![]() Head here for the Nature Podcast RSS feed. Never miss an episode: Subscribe to the Nature Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast app. Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Where on Earth is all the water coming from? The Conversation: The east coast rain seems endless. New Scientist: Record flooding in Australia driven by La Niña and climate change Science: Largest bacterium ever discovered has an unexpectedly complex cell This time, giant bacteria that can be seen with the naked eye, and how record-breaking rainfall has caused major floods in Australia. We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. We speak to one of the Comment’s authors about the project and their hopes that it might kick start ecosystem restoration.Ĭomment: Rewilding Argentina: lessons for the 2030 biodiversity targets 21:02 Briefing Chat ![]() This week Nature publishes a Comment article from a group who aim to reverse biodiversity loss by reintroducing species to areas where they are extinct. Research Highlight: Huge comet is biggest of its kind 11:10 Rewilding Argentina Research Highlight: Even six-legged diners can’t resist sweet-and-salty snacks Pollinators prefer nectar with a pinch of salt, and measurements of a megacomet’s mighty size. Ithaca platform 08:53 Research Highlights Video: The AI historian: A new tool to decipher ancient texts ![]() News and Views: AI minds the gap and fills in missing Greek inscriptions They hope that it will help historians by speeding up the process of reconstructing damaged texts. Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence that can restore and date ancient Greek inscriptions. In this episode: 00:46 The AI helping historians read ancient texts
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