The Digital Tabula Imperii Byzantini (Dig-TIB) as Contribution to the World’s Cultural Heritage

The devastating impact of wars on world cultural heritage has been widely discussed after 1945. Scholarly projects at the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) have a long tradition of contributing to the study of the world's cultural heritage. Among them is the Long-Term Project "Tabula Imperii Byzantini" (TIB) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, which is publishing a historical atlas of the Byzantine Empire with special attention to the Balkan Peninsula and Asia Minor. Since 1966 (until now), monuments and their (then) current state have been documented by means of slides during field trips. This unique collection of Byzantine monuments (around 52,000 slides) is a rich cultural asset and a pivotal point of the present project "The Digital Tabula Imperii Byzantini (Dig-TIB) as Contribution to the World’s Cultural Heritage" as well as future research work.

The initiatives in the field of Digital Humanities and Byzantine Studies in recent years have prompted the scholarly team of the TIB at the ÖAW to intensify the efforts not only to scan and preserve slides of the rich TIB archive, but also to enable a platform for the adequate presentation and sustainable use of the data.

The aim of the project is not to limit itself to digitisation / preservation in general, but to specifically embed the respective monuments and their subsequent fates in the past decades into the world cultural heritage in three different case studies. These case studies - "Cilicia and Isauria" (TIB 5, Friedrich Hild), "Eastern Thrace (Eurōpē)" (TIB 12, Andreas Külzer) and "Macedonia, Northern Part" (TIB 16, Mihailo Popovic) - were chosen because of the complex politico-military situation in the Middle East with its impact on the monuments in situ (TIB 5) and because they include areas whose infrastructures are developing rapidly with lasting consequences for the landscapes of the past and for the respective monuments (TIB 12 and TIB 16).

Funded by:

Jubiläumsfonds der Oesterreichischen Nationalbank

Project Number: 17771

Duration: 01.03.2018 - 31.05.2020

PI: Mihailo Popović

Employees:
  • Veronika Polloczek
  • Bernhard Koschiček-Krombholz
  • Moisés Hernández Cordero
Cooperation and External Employees:
  • Alexander Watzinger, IT Experte
Lesnovo, Monastery of St. Archangel Michael and St. Hermit Gabriel 1920/30. Cross-domed church with naos, narthex and exonarthex added in the 16th century

Lesnovo, Monastery of St. Archangel Michael and St. Hermit Gabriel 1920/30. Cross-domed church with naos, narthex and exonarthex added in the 16th century

Lesnovo, Monastery of St. Archangel Michael and St. Hermit Gabriel 2010. Cross-domed church with rebuilt exonarthex

Lesnovo, Monastery of St. Archangel Michael and St. Hermit Gabriel 2010. Cross-domed church with rebuilt exonarthex

Ohrid, Ancient Theatre 1988. Ancient theatre in Ohrid, abandoned by the locals after the end of the Roman Empire due to executions of Christians by the Romans

Ohrid, Ancient Theatre 1988. Ancient theatre in Ohrid, abandoned by the locals after the end of the Roman Empire due to executions of Christians by the Romans

Ohrid, Ancient Theatre 2008. Gradual renovation of the theatre from the 1980s onwards

Ohrid, Ancient Theatre 2008. Gradual renovation of the theatre from the 1980s onwards

The Cilician Gate (Pylai Kilikias) as the most important connection between Cilicia and the highlands in Anatolia

The Cilician Gate (Pylai Kilikias) as the most important connection between Cilicia and the highlands in Anatolia

Pylai Kilikias 2016. From the 1970s onwards, massive damage to the Cilician Gate for the purpose of widening the roadway as part of road construction works

Pylai Kilikias 2016. From the 1970s onwards, massive damage to the Cilician Gate for the purpose of widening the roadway as part of road construction works

Euboia, Panagia Monomeritissa 1967. Extension to the church of the monastery of Eria, which also served as a dwelling house

Euboia, Panagia Monomeritissa 1967. Extension to the church of the monastery of Eria, which also served as a dwelling house

Euboia, Panagia Monomeritissa 1972. Deconstruction of this annexe in 1972

Euboia, Panagia Monomeritissa 1972. Deconstruction of this annexe in 1972

The town of Melnik in south-west Bulgaria, Republic of Bulgaria, 1970

The town of Melnik in south-west Bulgaria, Republic of Bulgaria, 1970

The town of Melnik in south-west Bulgaria, Republic of Bulgaria, 2010

The town of Melnik in south-west Bulgaria, Republic of Bulgaria, 2010

The monastery church of the Rila Monastery, Republic of Bulgaria, 1977

The monastery church of the Rila Monastery, Republic of Bulgaria, 1977

The monastery church of the Rila Monastery, Republic of Bulgaria,2014

The monastery church of the Rila Monastery, Republic of Bulgaria,2014

The bay near the town of Ohrid, Republic of Northern Macedonia, 1968

The bay near the town of Ohrid, Republic of Northern Macedonia, 1968

The bay near the town of Ohrid, Republic of Northern Macedonia, 2017

The bay near the town of Ohrid, Republic of Northern Macedonia, 2017

Results

The total number of slides to be scanned and processed in the project by the research assistant Veronika Polloczek was 7,172 (TIB 5: 4,981 slides, TIB 12: 1,252 slides, TIB 16: 939 slides). Their processing and description was carried out by Veronika Polloczek, the (partly already retired) scientists of the TIB and student employees.

The project "The Digital Tabula Imperii Byzantini (Dig-TIB) as a Contribution to World Heritage" has addressed the three above-mentioned case studies with their monuments and captured or digitized the respective slide collections in order to carefully view them through the prism of cultural heritage (before - after state). This created a structured and efficient workflow and best practice in this field of Historical Geography and Digital Humanities.

Furthermore, Veronika Polloczek has successfully applied for and defended a dissertation topic at the University of Vienna with the working title "From the Past into the Future - Digital Archiving using the Example of the Historical Atlas Tabula Imperii Byzantini and its Diathek", which was officially approved by the University of Vienna on May 17, 2019 and is supervised by Mihailo Popović as a private lecturer at the University of Vienna.

During the term of the research project, the following results were obtained:

Publications

Author Title Location Date Pages
Mihailo St. Popović, Veronika Polloczek Die Regionen von Bitola und Prilep und deren kulturelles Erbe während und nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg, in: Die Ursprünge der österreichischen Diplomatie in Mazedonien – mit Schwerpunkt auf das österreichisch–ungarische Konsulat in Bitola/Monastir 1851–1919 Bitola-Skopje in Druck
Andreas Külzer, Veronika Polloczek, Mihailo St. Popović (Hgg.) unter Mitwirkung von Johannes Koder Raum und Geschichte: Der historische Atlas „Tabula Imperii Byzantini“ an der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Wien-Novi Sad 2020 239
Mihailo St. Popović, Toni Filiposki Antique and Medieval Cultural Heritage in Macedonia during WW1: Based on German and Austrian Archival Evidence, in: On the Cross-Path of Cultural Ideas: Macedonia, the Balkans, Southeast Europe – Heritage, Management, Resources. A Collection of Papers from the International Conference held in Ohrid in September 2019 Wien-Novi Sad 2020 239

Presentations

Presenter Title Conference Location Date
Andreas Külzer, Veronika Polloczek, Mihailo St. Popović Die digitale Tabula Imperii Byzantini (Dig-TIB) als Beitrag zum Weltkulturerbe DPP Lecture Wien 2018/03/22
Veronika Polloczek How to Expand the Tabula Imperii Byzantini in a Digital Age? International Medieval Congress Leeds, Großbritannien 2018/07/03
Veronika Polloczek, Mihailo St. Popović The Digital Tabula Imperii Byzantini (Dig-TIB) as Contribution to the World’s Culture Heritage Congress Visual Heritage Wien 2018/11/12
Veronika Polloczek Digitising and Archiving Cultural Heritage in DPP / OpenAtlas on the Example of the Tabula Imperii Byzantini International Medieval Congress Leeds, Großbritannien 2019/07/03
Mihailo St. Popović Antique and Medieval Cultural Heritage in Macedonia during WW1: Based on German and Austrian Archival Evidence On the Cross-Path of Cultural Ideas: Macedonia, The Balkans, Southeast Europe – Heritage, Management, Resources Ohrid, Nordmazedonien 2019/09/24
Veronika Polloczek On the Trail of the Digital Tabula Imperii Byzantini: How Changes in the World's Cultural Heritage Become Visible International Medieval Congress Leeds, Großbritannien 2022/07/06