Corpus Nummorum Thracorum. Classification of Coin Types and Semantic Linkage through Nomisma.org

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Christoph Markschies, since 10/2020; Dr. Karsten Tolle; Professor Dr. Bernhard Weisser
• Subject Area: Ancient History ; Classical, Roman, Christian and Islamic Archaeology ; Security and Dependability, Operating-, Communication- and Distributed Systems
• Term: from 2016 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 317085821

The portal Corpus Nummorum Thracorum (CNT) is a virtual tool for the collection and categorisation of coins from the ancient land of Thrace. For the first time, in this research data repository the coins of a region are being recorded across different collections and set in their relative chronology within the coinages of cities. In CNT there are coins from both public and private collections around the world and from the coin trade, which provides a unique material basis of assured quality. The data compiled for each single coin include, among other things, technical information such as weight, diameter etc. and the description of obverse and reverse designs and legends; also recorded are the place and date of emission and the associated persons, bibliography and findspot. Many of these data are provided with unique identifiers (so-called URIs) - a feature that sets the standard for recording numismatic data - according to the principles of Linked Open Data, which makes data sharing possible.The project under proposal here will be able to make use of the potential offered by this existing information infrastructure by utilising the data recorded in CNT, together with other sources that likewise follow the approach of Linked Open Data, to present a typology of the coins of ancient Thrace. A type is generated out of the design and legend of the obverse and reverse, together with the denomination and monetary standard. Yet what variations in motif or legend are possible within a defined type? What distinguishes a type from a variant? These are questions that need to be clarified for Greek numismatics in general and the results then transferred to the Thracian coins. In the project the process of classification will not only be supported by IT resources, but will also be formalised and set out as rules. The transparency and clarity created by this will make it easier to establish the process also in cases other than Thrace. Setting up a typology for the Thracian coins would be a milestone in ancient numismatics from which other areas in the study of the ancient world would also profit, as it would make dating and attribution to archaeological contexts easier.The analysis of the typology of the Thracian coin emissions would allow for the first time comparative studies within a historical territory from both synchronic and diachronic perspectives. It would thus create the basis for further research questions in the spheres of iconography, philology, regional studies and the economics of money. The types recorded as norm data in the form of URIs on Nomisma.org will be able to be used as references and research resources by numerous other projects in the Semantic Web.

• DFG Programme: Research data and software (Scientific Library Services and Information Systems)
• Ehemaliger Antragsteller: Professor Dr. Martin Grötschel, until 10/2020