The AICAP project will create a fully annotated digital corpus of the inscriptions that were collected by the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) in their 2018-2020 surveys. Funded by the RCU, this project will create a state-of-the art relational database with an online interface in which the inscriptions will be annotated and analysed. This database will make the inscribed heritage of AlUla available and accessible to researchers as well as the public. The database structure will include a strong spatial component which will enable analyses of the inscriptions that take into account their full meaning, context, and interaction with the landscape. In addition to a digital corpus, the AICAP project will also organize an academic publication plan in order to initiate scientific discussions about important texts. In doing so, the epigraphic expertise of the researchers who will oversee the project will ensure a richly textured and deep understanding of the epigraphic landscape and the writing cultures represented in it.
Besides its academic focus, the project is committed to investing in the education of AlUla’s next generation, both through the inclusion of mentoring- and internship programs in its organization, as well as through a well thought-out outreach plan. The project will strive to create engaging and interactive outreach content that will allow participants to be fully immersed in the living museum of the AlUla region in the form of interactive workshops for schoolchildren and an online exhibition.
This combination of outreach, education, and comprehensive documentation and analysis of the written heritage that is part of the landscape of the AlUla region, will not only enhance our understanding of the long and rich history of its inhabitants, but also ensure its preservation for the future.