Kick-off event 

The academy project KIŠIB — Digital Corpus of Ancient West Asian Seals and Sealings was presented at a festive kick-off event at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW). The welcoming speeches were given by Christoph Markschies (President of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities), Barbara Helwing (Director of the Museum of the Ancient Near East, Berlin), Eva Cancik-Kirschbaum (Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Freie Universität Berlin and Academy member). The KIŠIB team then introduced themselves: Elisa Roßberger (Freie Universität Berlin), Adelheid Otto (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich / LMU), Sebastian Hageneuer (Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities), and Albert Dietz (LMU / Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities).

The KIŠIB Project

Through systematic analysis of the images and texts on seals and seal impressions from ancient West Asia (4th–1st millennium BC), insights can be gained into the fundamental significance of these artifacts in people's lives. The interplay of cylinder seals and clay tablets, images and writing, individuals and institutions, gods and humans in administration and law left behind a complex network. To decipher it, the KIŠIB project is creating a comprehensive digital corpus that is accessible to all and available for exploration. Central to this are close cooperation with museums and research projects in Germany and abroad, the curation of data and controlled vocabularies, and the exchange of knowledge with colleagues in West Asia.

The Academy Program

The event is part of the academy project KIŠIB Digital Corpus of Ancient West Asian Seals and Sealings at the Center for Basic Research on the Ancient World of the BBAW in cooperation with the BAdW (Bavarian Academy of Sciences). The project is part of the Academies' Program funded by the federal and state governments and coordinated by the Academies' Union, which serves to preserve, secure, and bring to life our cultural heritage.