Creating An Atlas Of The Ancient World

The Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World (Princeton University Press, 2000), edited by Richard J.A. Talbert, professor of history and classics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is too expensive for most people, especially students. Chapel Hill's Ancient World Mapping Center, or which Talbert is acting director, has therefore been funded to to create a series of free printed and online maps, as well as auditory versions for the visually impaired. In addition, the center is expanding on the Barrington Atlas by digitizing its maps, so that they can continually reflect new archaeological discoveries.

..."The atlas offered a single way to communicate to a primarily scholarly audience," says Prof. Elliott. "However Pleiades will facilitate a broad range of publishing activities and information supply in digital form over the Internet." For example, say that a group of museums creates a database of pottery information related to Mediterranean excavations. "You'd like to map that data, or accurately associate any given find with an authoritative record of its location. Pleiades essentially provides that data set for the Greek and Roman world, and it becomes what library professionals call an 'authority record' of the proper place names and location of these places. And via automatic digital connection to our system, it permits the mapping of this information as it is needed."