Internet Publication
The publication, "A Sasanian Seal Collection in Context Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative Publication of the Edward Gans Collection at University of California, Berkeley" is being hosted by the eScholarship program of the California Digital Library. ECAI and CDL are working together to create a collection of new digital publications that bring together data from various sources to create virtual collections of information about cultural subjects such as the Sasanian Empire. These publications include information in a variety of media, from various institutions, collected and stored using the different protocols developed by different disciplines and organizations. See the ECAI ePublication Initiative for more information.
The URL for eScholarship is: escholarship.cdlib.org. A specific URL and ISBN number for this publication will be available when the publication is completed. The URL on the eScholarship site will have a cover page with title, author, ISBN number, and abstract. The cover page will include links to the two primary navigation methods for the publication.
Sasanian Website
The first navigation method is the Sasanian Empire Website: ecai.org/sasanianweb. This Website provides access to the document, "Sasanian Seals from the Collection of the Late Edward Gans, at the University of California, Berkeley" by Guitty Azarpay, Et al and to the Seal images and catalog through an online Web application. This online application facilitates comparison of seals by the various search criteria; presents the full catalog record for each seal; and presents online images of the seals, which are larger and easier to view than the original objects. The Website provides browser access to some of the Sasanian Empire contextual information and the Sasanian Empire site images from the collection of Guitty Azarpay.
TimeMap Atlas
The second access method for the publication is through the ECAI TimeMap interactive interface, which displays map layers with a time scale bar. Currently to use the ECAI TimeMap interface you have to download client software to your computer. The CDL site will have a link to the location to download the appropriate software and instructions. See the Sasanian TimeMap User Guide for more information.
The Sasanian Empire ECAI TimeMap interface presents the Gans Seal Collection in context of time and place. It is an example of the capabilities of the ECAI system to include GIS data, historic maps, images, and texts in a time and place context. Since the individual Seals in the Gans collection have no provenance, the Sasanian Seal Collection Website and Web application are presented as a single map layer with a geographic extent based on the approximate maximum extent of the Sasanian Empire and a time range for the whole empire period. Then, additional geographic layers relating to the Sasanian Empire are included to provide a richer context for the seals. Two boundaries showing the empire extent near the beginning and end of the empires are presented. A gazetteer of Sasanian Empire places is included with information derived from the Sasanian Empire Map published by Tübinger in Germany. Five key sites in the Sasanian Empire are presented in a map layer that links to photographs and descriptions of the sites. Background information on current country boundaries, river locations and world heritage sites are included. This collection of layers is presented to give a context for the Sasanian Seal collection; to encourage the further development of geographic and time based information for the Seals; and to provide a teaching tool that incorporates the Seals in a resource for learning about this area of the world.
Further information about the content and design of the online publication is documented in the Sasanian Empire Project – Technical Summary.