The German Archaeological Institute – officially founded as the Instituto di corrispondenza archeologica the 21st April 1829, the day of the Roman Palilia, by an international group of researchers, artists and diplomats – has been active...
moreThe German Archaeological Institute – officially founded as the Instituto di corrispondenza archeologica the 21st April 1829, the day of the Roman Palilia, by an international group of researchers, artists and diplomats – has been active in Italy, with interruptions for almost two centuries. The early activities are mirrored in a vast historical archive – including correspondence, field diaries and c. 8,500 drawings – documenting different research interests, operational approaches and local interactions.
A recent digitalisation project, "Die Antike in Zeichnung, Plan und Bauaufnahme: primäre Dokumentationsmaterialien des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts im DAI-Rom", explored the drawings executed by and for the scholars working at the institute during the 19th and the early 20th centuries.
Most of the DAI drawings depict finds – vases, terracotta and bronze figurines, mirrors, inscriptions et.al. – often coming from digs aimed at recovering objects for the prosperous antiquity market. Some specify the site where the material was found, and/or it’s destination to collectors or museums. Thus the archival documentation could be used for virtual reconstructions, e.g. original find contexts or inventories. Notes on the owners contribute components to the provenance history of the single object as for in some way defined groups or even whole collections. Often the drawings also provide the earliest illustration of an object and can be an important source for the conservation and restoration history. The material represents a mine of information for who is working on provenance, collection and science historical questions
Also geo-topographic information provided by DAI correspondents – particularly when predating the first complete map of Italy (1875-1903) – is a valuable source to study areas impacted by urban development, often poorly documented. This information could be used to identify areas at risk of plundering or destruction, particularly in regions affected by massive illegal construction and/or refuse disposal.
The awareness of the potential of the DAI archival documentation has led to this cataloguing and digitising project aimed at making the collections freely accessible online through two different but interconnected databases:
- iDAI.Images/Arachne, the central database of the DAI hosted by the Archaeological Institute of the University of Cologne;
- Zenon, the bibliographical catalogue of the various DAI departments.
The interlinking of the data is a first step in the aim to re-contextualise the drawings with their subjects on a virtual platform which provides today archaeologists query possibilities.
