Christina Williamson – Deep Mapping the Asklepieion

Tuesday, November 26, 17.15-19.00

Location: Drift 25 – 005

This talk will focus on the question of using digital approaches to map out human experiences over time. ‘Deep-mapping the Asklepieion of Pergamon’ is a project that centers on the wide variety of spatial narratives at a sanctuary by mapping all of the sources connected to the shrine. In this way we hope to reveal the deep history of the place, but also what it meant to different people through the richness of its material and immaterial archive. Architecture, monuments, inscriptions together with small finds like coins, ceramics, terracottas, but also functional items like lamps, pottery, iron are combined with literary narratives, especially Aelius Aristides, can give us a comprehensive view on the kaleidoscope of functions that the shrine had. But how can we unlock this data?
An important way forward is the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in combination with story maps, and in this course we will explore how we developed this system, the problem of mapping ‘fuzzy’ data, and some of the discoveries along the way.