Program

Public Programs: Digital Projects for the Public: Prototyping Grants

Period of Performance

3/1/2021 - 8/31/2022

Funding Totals

$98,095.00 (approved)
$98,095.00 (awarded)


The SYRIOS Project: Studying Urban Relationships and Identity over Ancient Syria

FAIN: MT-277057-21

University Of Houston (Houston, TX 77204-3067)
Kristina Neumann (Project Director: June 2020 to present)

Prototyping of an interactive online exhibition exploring the history of ancient Syria through coin distribution.

The SYRIOS Project: Studying Urban Relationships and Identity over Ancient Syria (Prototype) guides a public audience through exploration of the different coins and histories of the city of Antioch during the Greco-Roman period.





Associated Products

Antioch in Syria: A History from Coins (300 BCE-450 CE) (Book)
Title: Antioch in Syria: A History from Coins (300 BCE-450 CE)
Author: Kristina Neumann
Abstract: Antioch in Syria critically reassesses this ancient city from its Seleucid foundation into Late Antiquity. Although Antioch's prominence is famous, Kristina M. Neumann newly exposes the gradations of imperial power and local agency mediated within its walls through a comprehensive study of the coins minted there and excavated throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East. Patterns revealed through digital mapping and Exploratory Data Analysis serve as a significant index of spatial politics and the policies of the different authorities making use of the city. Evaluating the coins against other historical material reveals that Antioch's status was not fixed, nor the people passive pawns for external powers. Instead, as imperial governments capitalised upon Antioch's location and amenities, the citizens developed in their own distinct identities and agency. Antioch of the Antiochians must therefore be elevated from traditional narratives and static characterisations, being studied and celebrated for the dynamic polis it was.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/antioch-in-syria/antioch-in-syria/CC6531DFF053A8BA29E42CFFC2C2EA68
Access Model: No
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 978-110883714
Copy sent to NEH?: No

Digital Numismatics: A Wealth Of Evidence for Ancient Syria (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Digital Numismatics: A Wealth Of Evidence for Ancient Syria
Author: Peggy Lindner
Author: Kristina Neumann
Abstract: This paper discusses how digital numismatics facilitates new research into ancient Syria for both academic and public audiences. From data visualization to a collaborative online exhibit, The SYRIOS Project demonstrates how digital humanities enhance the value of coins as historical evidence. Phase One of the project critically reassesses the city of Antioch by applying the techniques of Exploratory Data Analysis and digital mapping to a database of 300,000 coin finds. Although Antioch’s prominence is famous, a quantitative analysis of coins minted in the city and excavated throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East exposes the gradations of imperial power and local agency mediated within its walls. Patterns in coin distribution serve as a significant index of spatial politics and the policies of the different authorities making use of the city. Evaluating the coins against other historical material reveals that Antioch’s status was not fixed, nor the people passive pawns for external powers. Instead, as imperial governments capitalized upon Antioch's location and amenities, the citizens developed in their own distinct identities and agency – both financial and political. Antioch of the Antiochians must therefore be elevated from traditional narratives and static characterizations, being studied and celebrated for the dynamic polis it was. The results of Phase One will be published as a monograph with Cambridge University Press in Summer 2021. Phase Two of the project aims to bring this scholarly research to a public audience through a dynamic online exhibit. Funded by the NEH, our collaborative team from the humanities and technology studies is currently developing a prototype focused on the coins and people of Antioch. Audiences can navigate an introduction to coins as historical evidence with a 3D model and parallax scrolling. Thematic narratives teach users how even a single coin can testify to political, economic, religious, and archaeological histories
Date: 01/08/2022
Primary URL: https://www.archaeological.org/programs/professionals/annual-meeting/prelim-program/
Conference Name: AIA/SCS Annual Joint Conference

“From Coins to Data: New History for Ancient Antioch” (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: “From Coins to Data: New History for Ancient Antioch”
Abstract: This talk discusses how digital numismatics facilitates new research into ancient Antioch in Syria. My monograph, Antioch in Syria: A History from Coins (300 BCE-450 CE) (Cambridge University Press, 2021), critically reassesses the capital city by applying the techniques of Exploratory Data Analysis and digital mapping to a database of 300,000 coin finds. Although Antioch's prominence is famous, a quantitative analysis of coins minted in the city and excavated throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East exposes the gradations of imperial power and local agency mediated within its walls. As imperial governments capitalized upon Antioch's location and amenities, the citizens developed in their own distinct identities and agency – both financial and political. This research serves as the foundation for the collaborative online exhibit, SYRIOS: Studying Urban Relationships and Identity over Ancient Syria (https://syrios.uh.edu), which teaches public audiences about how digital humanities methodologies enhance the value of coins as historical evidence.
Author: Kristina Neumann
Date: 04/27/2022
Location: Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey (virtual presentation)

SYRIOS (Web Resource)
Title: SYRIOS
Author: Elizabeth Rodwell
Author: Kristina Neumann
Author: Peggy Lindner
Abstract: The SYRIOS Project began in 2016 both as an outgrowth of research into ancient Syria and in response to the current crisis within the modern region. By focusing on the dynamic presentation of Syrian material culture and the stories of its cities within the Greco-Roman period, we seek to: transform public awareness of the ancient world and Syria in particular revitalize the perception of Syria as a diverse and vibrant metropolitan region exemplify the power of objects as testimony to everyday lives and struggles offer historical professionals an enhanced, digital data source and model applicable to research, teaching, and community outreach invite new perspectives into the research and engagement with this historic place This current exhibit serves as Phase I and “Proof of Concept” for the overall project. It focuses on the history of the Syrian capital city of Antioch and the concept of studying coins as pieces of art and objects that move. From a technical perspective, this initial exhibit provided a platform for investigating overall design, interactivity, and usability.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://syrios.uh.edu

Center for Public History Summer Internship Program (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Center for Public History Summer Internship Program
Author: Leandra Zarnow
Author: Kristina Neumann
Abstract: The goal of the CPH Summer Internship Program was to bring STEM and humanities students together to engage in an interdisciplinary hands-on co-curricular research experience. They applied public humanities-grounded research and writing approaches as well as digital tools, popular media, and data science techniques to historical and contemporary problems. The two major themes of the program were "Communication" and "Social Responsibility." During this internship, interns worked closely with faculty mentors in researching, developing, and publishing historical content for a public audience. Student interns engaged in archival and contemporary research, worked on quantitative and qualitative data, and learned both the front and back end of web and media development. For SYRIOS specifically, interns followed a newly developed curriculum for researching, writing, and animating short informational videos on the preservation and destruction of Syrian cultural heritage of Syria via war and the antiquities trade.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://uh.edu/class/ctr-public-history/news/students-reflect-on-cite-internships.php
Audience: Undergraduate

University of Houston Research for Aspiring Coogs in the Humanities (REACH) Program (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: University of Houston Research for Aspiring Coogs in the Humanities (REACH) Program
Author: SYRIOS Team
Abstract: The Research for Aspiring Coogs in the Humanities (REACH) Program at the University of Houston is a collaborative effort supported by the Cougar Initiative to Engage and the Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards. REACH will provide a year-long introductory research experience for students in humanities disciplines by connecting participants to existing undergraduate research projects at the University of Houston. From projects in collaboration with UH Libraries Special Collections, to the digital humanities, to individual faculty research projects in humanities disciplines, the REACH program provides an entry-point to hands-on scholarly inquiry. For SYRIOS, students in year 1 followed newly developed curriculum on how to research, write, and design an online historical narrative about Syrian heritage. Students in year 2 followed newly developed curriculum about how to conduct usability/user-experience testing for a digital humanities project.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://uh.edu/honors/undergraduate-research/our-programs/reach-program/
Audience: Undergraduate

Digital Numismatics and Data Visualization for Ancient Antioch (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Digital Numismatics and Data Visualization for Ancient Antioch
Author: Peggy Lindner
Author: Kristina Neumann
Abstract: This paper discusses how digital numismatics facilitates new research into ancient Antioch in Syria. Neumann’s monograph, Antioch in Syria: A History from Coins (300 BCE-450 CE) (Cambridge University Press, 2021), critically reassesses the capital city by applying the techniques of Exploratory Data Analysis and digital mapping to a database of 300,000 coin finds. Although Antioch’s prominence is famous, a quantitative analysis of coins minted in the city and excavated throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East exposes the gradations of imperial power and local agency mediated within its walls. As imperial governments capitalized upon Antioch's location and amenities, the citizens developed in their own distinct identities and agency – both financial and political. This research serves as the foundation for the collaborative online exhibit, SYRIOS: Studying Urban Relationships and Identity over Ancient Syria (https://syrios.uh.edu), which teaches public audiences about how digital humanities methodologies enhance the value of coins as historical evidence.
Date: 09/15/2022
Primary URL: https://inc2022.pl/
Primary URL Description: The International Congress, which takes place every six years, represents the world renowned event in the field of Numismatics. It is attended by a great number of people and attracts scholars, curators of coin collections, auction houses and auction dealers from the five Continents. The Congress forms a part of the politics for the promotion, conservation, valorization and fruition of the material and immaterial Cultural Heritage.

Roundtable Discussant on Digital Numismatics (Conference/Institute/Seminar)
Title: Roundtable Discussant on Digital Numismatics
Author: Kristina Neumann
Abstract: FLAME (Framing the Late Antique and Early Medieval Economy) Conference 2022 This conference will bring together an international group of scholars who have worked on Princeton’s FLAME project, as well as leading scholars on the late antique and early medieval economy worldwide. Over three days, speakers will present new findings centred on the research priorities of the FLAME project. Participants will share insights on economic, political, and social changes throughout this period, but will also reflect upon the historiographical and methodological problems posed by the project itself. The papers will involve insights from a significant global region, as FLAME’s scope ranges from Gibraltar to southeastern India. An exhibition of coins relating to the conference from the Princeton University Numismatic Collection will accompany the conference and will be on display outside of East Pyne 010 on March 18th and 19th.
Date Range: 20 March 2022
Location: Princeton University
Primary URL: https://coinage.princeton.edu/flame-conference-march-2022/

Digital Answers for Ancient Questions (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Digital Answers for Ancient Questions
Abstract: In this talk to undergraduate and graduate students, we cover the seven major steps in building a collaborative digital humanities project: 1) Hone Research Question; 2) Assemble Evidence & Scholarship; 3) Dream Big; 4) Prepare Data Set; 5) Create Toolbox; 6) Find Team; and 7) Involve Audience. Specifically, we discuss how these steps formed a firm foundation for SYRIOS. Emphasis is placed on the interdisciplinary nature of this work, as well as the cyclical and ongoing nature of the work in constantly re-evaluating the research question, the evidence, the tools, and the needs of the audience.
Author: Kristina Neumann
Author: Peggy Lindner
Author: Liz Rodwell
Date: 11/27/2022
Location: North Carolina State University

SYRIOS Software Infrastructure (Web Resource)
Title: SYRIOS Software Infrastructure
Author: Peggy Lindner
Abstract: The SYRIOS data infrastructure and web development code are available in two public GitHub repositories.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://github.com/DataAnalyticsinStudentHands/Syrios_frontend
Secondary URL: https://github.com/DataAnalyticsinStudentHands/Syrios_backend

Antioch Coin Archaeological Data (Database/Archive/Digital Edition)
Title: Antioch Coin Archaeological Data
Author: Kristina Neumann
Abstract: Download a digital database of coins excavated at the archaeological site of Antioch (Antakya, Turkey).
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://syrios.uh.edu/Evidence/Download
Access Model: Open Access