A workshop on multispectral imaging applied to ostraca, in Jerusalem.

Multispectral imaging consists in photographing an object under various wavelengths, both visible and invisible. In the case of ostraca—pottery shards recycled into writing media—the purpose is to enhance the decipherment of ink traces.

The workshop will take place at the French Research Center in Jerusalem (CRFJ), Shimshon Street 3, at 9:30am. I will start with theoretical aspects, defining multispectral imaging and outlining its various uses. I will then focus on ostraca, discussing the potential and limit of multispectral imaging for the study of such inscriptions.

In the second part of the workshop, we will look at the equipment I set up and carry out actual imaging of newly found ostraca, in collaboration with Esther Eshel and Boaz Zissu, from Bar Ilan University’s Jeselsohn Epigraphic Center.

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