F. Kootstra-Ford 2026, AICAP-RCU
Recording & Deciphering
Epigraphic work relies on survey missions to discover new material and to understand how the inscriptions relate to the landscape. When doing fieldwork, we record sites in detail, taking GPS coordinates, notes, and photographs, making an effort to disturb the sites as little as possible.
Gh. Othman 2025, AICAP-RCU
This ensures that when we later study the inscriptions at home, we can check if the environment of the text can help us understand its function and meaning. For example, was there a burial site nearby, or was an inscription located at an advantageous lookout point, or close to a source of water?
F. Kootstra-Ford 2025, AICAP-RCU
Besides taking photographs, we also take detailed notes in the field. This helps to keep track of the GPS and photographic material we collect. Especially when inscriptions are eroded or damaged, reading and copying an inscription in the field can be a great help when analyzing the inscriptions at home.
Gh. Othman 2025, AICAP-RCU
Because our project focusses on recording inscriptions, we do not take any physical material from the field. If we find pottery at a site, we photograph it where we find it, and leave it on the site. This ensures that the material will still be in its context if a future archaeological project comes to study the site in more depth.
Gh. Othman 2025, AICAP-RCU
Epigraphic and archaeological fieldwork would not be possible without teamwork. A big thank you to the AICAP team: Ghada Othman (photography and design); Huda Alarfaj (3-D documentation); Areen Sweetat (project management); Julia Maczuga and Ahmed Kamal (Early Islamic Arabic); Bushra Alkhamees, Zuzanna Nabulssi and Giuliano Castagna (Modern Arabic); Benjamin Suchard and María del Carmen Chacón-Díez (Pre-Islamic epigraphy); Jérôme Norris (co-director); Fokelien Kootstra-Ford (director).