Epigraphy.info X workshop in Graz

The tenth Epigraphy.info workshop will take place in Graz (Austria) from 24 to 26 March 2026.


Tenth Epigraphy.info Workshop

University of Graz, Austria — 24–26 March 2026

Dear colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the tenth Epigraphy.info workshop, to be held in Graz (Austria) from 24 to 26 March 2026. The event will be organized by the Department of Classics, Section Ancient History and Epigraphy, at the University of Graz, in collaboration with the Epigraphy.info Steering Committee.

The tenth Epigraphy.info workshop will be dedicated to the memory of Winfried Kumpitsch and will feature a special thematic focus on Sacred Spaces, Sacred Words: Digital Approaches to Religious Epigraphy, an area to which Winfried devoted much of his scholarly work and research. Alongside this theme, the workshop will continue the established tradition of bringing together scholars, students, and practitioners of digital epigraphy to exchange ideas, share experiences, and develop new collaborations (see https://epigraphy.info/ for past meetings).

We look forward to welcoming you to Graz for this special occasion and honoring the memory of Winfried Kumpitsch together.

For any questions, please contact the Epigraphy.info Steering Committee at info@epigraphy.info.

The Steering Committee and the Local Organizers


Participation and Registration

The workshop is planned as an in-person event in Graz, fostering direct exchange and collaboration. Participants who wish to attend the workshop in person or remotely are kindly asked to complete the appropriate registration form.

Separate registration forms are available for:

Further information regarding access to the sessions will be communicated to registered participants in advance of the workshop.


Provisional Programme

DAY 1: March 24

09:00 09:30 Registration
09:30 10:00 Local Committee Welcome Speech and Practical Information
Session 1
Chair: Georgios Tsolakis
10:00 10:25 Rebecca Benefiel, Sara Sprenkle Searching for the sacred among Pompeian graffiti: Building a tool for The Ancient Graffiti Project
10:25 10:50 Mattians Scholler FERCAN, Patrimonium, and Celtic Divine Names in the Inscriptions of the Roman Province Germania Inferior and Superior
10:50 11:15 Csaba Szabó, Tünde Vágási ReMITHRA: Digital database of Mithraic monuments from the Danubian provinces. Methodological tools and challenges
11:15 11:45 Break
Session 2
Chair: Silvia Evangelisti
11:45 12:10 Viktor Humennyi Imagining an Interactive Digital Dashboard for Roman Military Epigraphy of Roman Syria (1st–3rd c. CE)
12:10 12:35 Anna Loro Encoding Vase Inscriptions: Towards a Digital Corpus of Φωνούμενα
12:35 14:00 Lunch Break
Poster Session
14:00 14:45 Maria Rosaria Ariano From stone to dataset: proposing a digital workflow for analyzing out-of-context inscriptions. An example of a votive dedication in Eastern Sicily
Olmo Ceriotti, Federico Gerardi, Saverio Giulio Malatesta, Silvia Orlandi Language Modeling for Epigraphs
Olmo Ceriotti, Federico Gerardi, Saverio Giulio Malatesta, Silvia Orlandi EDR-AI: A dataset for machine learning on epigraphs
Miroslav Čovan, Anna Barnau Gerardi Corpus Inscriptionum Slovaciae: A Digital Portal of Historical Inscriptions with AI-Powered Detection
Jeffrey Garcia Sequential Constraint-Elimination in Fragmentary Inscription Analysis: A Test Case from the Athenian Agora
Marietta Horster, David Eibeck, Francisca Feraudi-Gruénais The EDEp Editor
Christoph Klose Objects as Information Carriers
Gevorg Nersesian, Suren Khachatryan, Narine Sarvazyan Advancing Armenian Inscription Recognition
Jun Ogawa Evaluating Large Language Models for Automatic Generation of EpiDoc TEI from Leiden Transcriptions
Andrea Santamaria Corpus of Inscriptions in the Local Language(s) of Thrace: A Preliminary Overview
Giuseppina Viscardi, Marta Fogagnolo, Caterina Borgatti Religious epigraphy in the digital Lexicon LARES
Session 3
Chair: Matthias Scholler
14:45 15:10 Hamest Tamrazyan Cultural Semantics of Sacred Writing: Integrating Descriptive Terminology into the Ukrainian SKOS for Religious Epigraphy
15:10 15:35 Aleksandra Kubiak-Schneider Religious Aramaic Epigraphy. Case of Dura-Europos
15:35 16:05 Break
16:05 17:35 Anna Clara Maniero Azzolini, Pietro Ortimini Practical Session 1: Recording Inscriptions in Wikidata and Wikibase
17:35 18:35 Working Group Meeting

DAY 2: March 25

Session 4
Chair: Rebecca R. Benefiel
09:30 09:55 Petra Heřmánková, Marietta Horster, Jonathan Prag, Imran Asif One Step Closer to LOD in Epigraphy: The Results of FAIR Epigraphy Project (2022–2026)
09:55 10:20 Georgios Tsolakis What Have the Machines Ever Done for Us? Assessing ChatGPT and Claude in the Study of Greek Epigraphic Cultures
10:20 10:45 Michael Satlow Using AI to Encode Inscriptions
10:45 11:15 Break
Session 5
Chair: Andrea Santamaria
11:15 11:40 Manuel Sassmann Buddhist Stone Sutras in China: a cross-media publishing epigraphy project and its quest for a digital legacy
11:40 12:05 Lia Wei Medieval Taoist cliff inscriptions and their modern reception: descriptive vocabularies for inscribed landscapes, (calli)graphic variation and rubbings
12:05 12:30 Hamest Tamrazyan, Gayane Hovhannisyan, Arsen Harutyunyan Aligning Armenian Epigraphic Conventions with the Leiden and EpiDoc Frameworks
12:30 14:00 Lunch Break
14:00 15:30 Gregor Diez Practical Session 2: Restoring readability. The optical analysis of inscriptions using Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI)
15:30 16:00 Break
16:00 17:30 Wolfgang Spickermann Keynote Lecture: Perspectives on digital epigraphy: small inscriptions and technical visualization
17:30 19:00 Short break and guided tour at the Gipsabgussammlung
19:00 Dinner at Gipsabgussammlung)

DAY 3: March 26

Session 6
Chair: Annie Burman
09:30 09:55 Mariana Bodnaruk Epigraphic Networks of Office and Faith: Digital Perspectives on the Fourth-Century Palatine Elite
09:55 10:20 Anna Fitiski̲na, Vladimir Ippolitov Old East Slavic epigraphy (11–15th centuries) digitally approached
10:20 10:45 Dimitar Iliev, Kristiyan Simeonov Creating a Digital Corpus of Old Church Slavonic Inscriptions: a Pilot Collection
10:45 11:15 Break
11:15 12:30 Community discussion and reports, decisions, Steering Committee election

Financial Support

This section will be updated as additional support is confirmed.

  • IDEA Funding for Early Career Scholars: The International Digital Epigraphy Association (IDEA) will sponsor early career scholars presenting at the upcoming meeting. A total of €1,000 is available to be distributed among eligible applicants whose work aligns with IDEA’s mission of promoting digital methodologies in epigraphic research. The selection will be made by the IDEA Directorial Committee based on the relevance of the applicants’ research to the association’s aims. Awardees will be required to join IDEA and provide proof of attendance after the event to receive their grant. Applicants should send a short CV, the abstract of their paper or poster, and a cover letter explaining how their work fits IDEA’s goals to info@eagle-network.eu by 15 January 2026. For full details and updates, please visit the EAGLE Portal.

Practical Information: Traveling to Graz

Venue: University of Graz – Main Building, Universitätsplatz 3, 8010 Graz, Austria

1. Basic Facts & Orientation

  • Graz is the capital of the Styrian region (Steiermark) in southeastern Austria.
  • The conference takes place at the University of Graz Main Building (Universitätsplatz 3).
  • The city is served by Graz Airport (GRZ) and the main train station, Graz Hauptbahnhof (Graz Hbf).
  • Graz has an integrated tram and bus network within fare zone 101, which includes the airport, train station, and university area.

2. How to Reach Graz

  • By air: Graz Airport (GRZ) is the nearest airport (10 km south of the city). If there’s no direct flight, connect via Vienna and continue by train or bus (2–3 hours from Vienna).

3. From Graz Airport to the City / University

Option Route & Duration Cost Notes
S-Bahn S5 (train) Walk 5 min to Flughafen Graz/Feldkirchen → S5 to Hauptbahnhof (12 min) € 3.00 Fastest and cheapest option.
Bus 630/631 + tram Bus 630/631 to Puntigam → Tram 5 to Jakominiplatz → Tram 3/7 to Maiffredygasse → walk € 3.00 More changes, runs hourly.
Taxi / Uber Direct to Universitätsplatz 3 (~ 20 min) € 25 – 35 Recommended for late arrivals or heavy luggage.

4. Arriving by Train or Long-Distance Bus

If you arrive at Graz Hauptbahnhof (main station or FlixBus terminal):

  • Bus 63 → stop University of Graz
  • Bus 58 → stop Mozartgasse (2 min. walk)
  • Total travel time: ~15 minutes
  • Ticket: €3.00

5. Local Public Transport in Graz

  • A single ticket (zone 101) covers trams, buses, and the airport train.
  • Tickets can be purchased at machines, via the GrazMobil app, or from the driver.
  • Key stops: Maiffredygasse (Tram 1, 3, 7) and Uni/Mensa (Bus 63).
  • Useful apps: GrazMobil, BusBahnBim, ÖBB.

6. Walking or Cycling to the University

  • The Main Building (Universitätsplatz 3) is a 15–20 minute walk from the city center (Hauptplatz) through the Stadtpark.
  • Bike rentals (tim Graz) are also available.

7. Venue Orientation

  • Main Building (Hauptgebäude): Universitätsplatz 3 – recognizable by its grand staircase and classical façade.
  • Nearest stops: University (Bus 63) or Mozartgasse (Bus 58).
  • Follow signs for “Universität Graz – Hauptgebäude.”

Accommodation

Click here to download a list of nearby hotels as PDF


Sponsors

University of Graz IDEA