03-07-2006, 11:01 AM
Ave!
I have a theory about Roman Military Diplomas.
What do we know about them?
We know that they were a pair of bronze tablets with dimensions of approximately 8" x 6" (20 cm x 15.7 cm) and that they were engraved on both sides. We also know that they were created by engravers based in Rome copying from a large original.
Some statements about our abilities.
We have the ability to map DNAs.
We have the ability to match handwriting.
We have the ability to match fingerprints.
We have the ability to match mugshots.
We have the ability to match voices.
During the last world war we could recognise an operator's "fist" when they were tapping out morse code.
Let us take a gigantic imaginative leap at this stage.
What if we could create a programme that could compare diplomas and match the work back to the actual individual engravers.
What if we could create a programme that could compare diploma fragments and match them with complete diplomas.
Not unlike a jigsaw puzzle, we would be able to overlay our virtual fragment over a complete diploma seeking a match.
We could have a database of images with all physical characteristics recorded ie. dimensions, size of letters, engraver's "fingerprint", etc.
Our theorical programme would take a snapshot of each letter and search the entire database seeking a match.
From one word or lettter we could recreate much of the diploma and be able to date it.
We would know who engraved our fragment and many others.
We may even be able to match fragments to a single diploma using these methods.
Does anyone know of a caligraphy programme that could be adapted to perform any of the above?
These engravers were obviously skilled artisans. Were they slaves, freedmen or citizens and was this their sole occupation? Did they work together in teams? If they were freedman or citizens were they paid per diploma or by the hour? Did they belong to a guild? Were they male only or were women engraving diplomas too? Perhaps they were children? What aids did they use? Did they use straight edges or engrave free-hand?
Vale
M. Spedius Corbulo
I have a theory about Roman Military Diplomas.
What do we know about them?
We know that they were a pair of bronze tablets with dimensions of approximately 8" x 6" (20 cm x 15.7 cm) and that they were engraved on both sides. We also know that they were created by engravers based in Rome copying from a large original.
Some statements about our abilities.
We have the ability to map DNAs.
We have the ability to match handwriting.
We have the ability to match fingerprints.
We have the ability to match mugshots.
We have the ability to match voices.
During the last world war we could recognise an operator's "fist" when they were tapping out morse code.
Let us take a gigantic imaginative leap at this stage.
What if we could create a programme that could compare diplomas and match the work back to the actual individual engravers.
What if we could create a programme that could compare diploma fragments and match them with complete diplomas.
Not unlike a jigsaw puzzle, we would be able to overlay our virtual fragment over a complete diploma seeking a match.
We could have a database of images with all physical characteristics recorded ie. dimensions, size of letters, engraver's "fingerprint", etc.
Our theorical programme would take a snapshot of each letter and search the entire database seeking a match.
From one word or lettter we could recreate much of the diploma and be able to date it.
We would know who engraved our fragment and many others.
We may even be able to match fragments to a single diploma using these methods.
Does anyone know of a caligraphy programme that could be adapted to perform any of the above?
These engravers were obviously skilled artisans. Were they slaves, freedmen or citizens and was this their sole occupation? Did they work together in teams? If they were freedman or citizens were they paid per diploma or by the hour? Did they belong to a guild? Were they male only or were women engraving diplomas too? Perhaps they were children? What aids did they use? Did they use straight edges or engrave free-hand?
Vale
M. Spedius Corbulo
![[Image: spedius-mcmxliii.gif]](http://www.nhmgs.org/images/spedius-mcmxliii.gif)
