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Methods

Through an interdisciplinary lens, the DaLiB project examines the book as a “container” of texts, an object to be preserved in libraries (its “containers”), a vehicle of knowledge, and an expression of relations between civilisations. Focusing on the ancient book, its places of use and preservation, its circulation, and its “migrations”, the project is founded on a continuous dialogue between aspects pertaining both to material (archaeological and bibliological) and to immaterial (text-critical and literary) culture.

The philological and bibliological study of a sample of Greek and Latin papyri will enrich the analysis of the formal aspects – graphic and material – of the ancient book, and to assess the influence of Greek ecdotic practices on the ancient editions of Latin texts. Such a work will be enriched by investigations on the book in the Latin world, both from the point of view of fruition and from that of the editorial faciesconferred by each given author to his book.

Moreover, the DaLiB project will foster philological, literary-historical inquiries aimed at improving our knowledge of the sources (mainly philosophical) employed by a selection of Latin authors. 

We will also systematically collect Greek and Latin testimonies about ancient libraries, both private and public, understood as physical places and as expressions of the culture of their era. This collection of texts will be digitized and made accessible through the DaLiB open access database. The database will make it possible to cross-reference data on various libraries and library collections (their foundation, history, and contents), their movements, and their use within different intellectual environments. This will provide us with a new, sustainable, and user-friendly tool on the circulation of ancient books. Additional archeological investigation on ancient libraries, focusing on their location, architectural structure, and decorative apparatus, will also be central to the DaLiB database. The interaction between literature, philology, history, and archaeology will enable us to put forward an integrated approach to different kinds of sources. Such a holistic approach aims to bring about an incisive contribution to the study of ancient libraries, as well as of the circulation of books and ideas in Classical antiquity.