For the last few weeks Josephine and I have been working, together with Scott Watkins from the IT department, on a papyrus viewing app for the MOTB web site.
As you might know, there are already quite a few such applications online, such as the Sinaiticus Project, the Digital Vatican Library, and the INTF Virtual Manuscript Room. (A greater collection of links to such sites and projects can be found as part of our resources section.) The exciting feature of our approach, however, is the implementation of four images per page that have been shot under different light settings:
- regular light
- backlight & raking-light
- infrared
- infrared combined with backlight & raking-light
Each of these settings brings out different aspects of the papyrus. Raking-light is photography using light at an oblique angle or almost parallel to the object for its illumination. Combined with backlight, this technique makes the material condition of the object visible more clearly. The structure of the fibers, holes, and cracks in the papyrus are easier to discern. Infrared improves the contrast between papyrus and ink. It helps distinguish the writing from discolorations or bleed-through from the other side. The combination of both settings creates a partial see-through effect which can help determine the position of ink on each side.
The greatest advantage of the app for scholars is that the current zoom and positioning is kept when toggling between the different light settings. This means, when you want to look at a certain part very closely, you can easily examine it under the different light settings without having to readjust your view. Here is a short video I made to give you some idea how this works:
In this video, you can see what NT papyrus P39/P.Oxy. 1780 will be presented in the application. We have also already prepared the Psalms codex Bodmer XXIV, but unfortunately I cannot show you our results with this one because it is still undergoing research for a new text edition. The scholars working on it, however, will be among our first beta-testers for giving feedback about the usefulness of the image toggling function.
The ultimate goal for this project is to implement it into the online collection catalog that the MOTB registrars are developing. I hope work on the application will continue after I have left, and that it will evolve into a signature digital viewing environment—not only for papyri but all other kinds of printed books and manuscripts.
Although the app will not become publicly accessible while I am still here, I am happy that I could be a part of getting this important project going!