23/02/2026
๐๐
๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ง๐: ๐๐๐ฑ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ฌ, ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ ๐
๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ง๐ข๐
Between 19 and 23 January 2026, a research mission was conducted in ๐
๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ (๐๐๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ฒ), marking a turning point in the projectโs development. Moving beyond preliminary mapping, the focus shifted to the interpretation of practices, gestures, and material behaviours embedded in erasable writing devices.
๐
๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ proved to be an exceptional terrain, preserving a dense assemblage of tablets from the ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐๐๐ซ๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ข๐จ๐.
These materials range from tools for intensive everyday use to complex administrative devices and items that eventually acquired symbolic or ritual functions.
The mission, carried out by Michele Cammarosano, Daniele Ferraiuolo, and Doris Oltrogge, was made possible through close cooperation with a network of prestigious institutions: the ๐๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ซ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ, the ๐๐ง๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ฬ๐ญ๐ฌ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ค ๐
๐ซ๐๐ง๐ค๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ญ, ๐๐ญ๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ค ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ๐ , the ๐๐ญ๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฏ and ๐๐๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ๐ , and the ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐๐ฎฬ๐ซ ๐
๐ซ๐๐ง๐ค๐๐ง, ๐๐ฎฬ๐ซ๐ณ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐
Together, these supports offer a privileged observatory for studying how writing tablets were handled, maintained, and circulated through history.
๐ฌ๐From a methodological perspective, the mission was an autoptic and materially grounded investigation. Using advanced equipment - including macro lenses, controlled LED lighting, and precision calipers - the team performed a systematic documentation of toolmarks, wax stratigraphy, and binding structures. Specifically, raking light photography proved crucial for revealing hidden incisions and traces of erasure invisible to the naked eye.
This technical refinement supported a broader shift: treating tablets not as static carriers of text, but as โprocessual objects.โ Their surfaces record repeated cycles of writing, erasing, re-preparing, and abandonment. In this view, losses and damage are not failures of preservation, but precious evidence of actual use and historical handling.
Read more: https://tabularasa.hypotheses.org/4034 ๐
