src/about/ui/signs.tsx
import React from 'react'
import { Markdown, MarkdownParagraph } from 'common/Markdown'
import Markup from 'markup/ui/markup'
import MarkupService from 'markup/application/MarkupService'
import fossey from 'about/ui/static/fossey.jpg'
import meszl from 'about/ui/static/meszl.jpg'
export default function AboutSigns(markupService: MarkupService): JSX.Element {
return (
<>
<MarkdownParagraph
text="The sign interface of the electronic Babylonian Library project
aims to provide a comprehensive, reliable, and quickly accessible reference
tool for cuneiform script. The various sections benefit greatly from various
publications on cuneiform palaeography, both digital and traditional; some
of them have been digitized for the first time in the framework of the eBL
project."
/>
<h3>I. Sign information</h3>
<MarkdownParagraph
text="The sign list of the electronic Babylonian Literature project is based on the
[Oracc Global Sign List](http://oracc.org/ogsl/), used by permission of S.
Tinney. Deviations from that list are not marked in any particular way."
/>
<MarkdownParagraph
text="The fonts used in the epigraphy section were all designed by S. Vanserveren,
who has made them freely available for the scientific community. They can be
downloaded at [this link](https://www.hethport.uni-wuerzburg.de/cuneifont/).
Dr. Vanserveren was kind enough to develop an entire font (Esagil,
Neo-Babylonian) at our request."
/>
<MarkdownParagraph
text="The logograms that appear with each sign are cited from W. Schramm’s *Akkadische Logogramme*
(Göttinger Beiträge zum Alten Orient 5. Göttingen, ²2010; [CC BY-ND 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/de/)).
The book is used by permission of its author."
/>
<h3>II. Mesopotamisches Zeichenlexikon</h3>
<figure className="Introduction__photoLeft">
<a href="https://ugarit-verlag.com/en/products/0e8e7ca5d1f5493aa351e3ebc42fb514">
<img
className="Introduction__300px"
src={meszl}
alt="Borger, Mesopotamisches Zeichenlexikon"
/>
</a>
<figcaption className="Introduction__caption">
Borger, <em>Mesopotamisches Zeichenlexikon</em>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<MarkdownParagraph
text="A great debt of gratitude is owed to Thomas R. Kämmerer, editor-in-chief
of Ugarit-Verlag, for his permission to digitize and make publicly available on
this website the third chapter of R. Borger’s *Mesopotamisches Zeichenlexikon*
(Alter Orient und Altes Testament 305. Münster, ²2010). Borger’s work has been
digitized by E. Gogokhia, and proofread by S. Cohen, A. Hätinen, and E. Jiménez.
The cuneiform has been coded in Unicode and is displayed using S. Vanserveren’s
[Assurbanipal font](https://www.hethport.uni-wuerzburg.de/cuneifont/).
Thanks are expressed to Dr. Vanserveren for her readiness to adapt and expand
her font to contain all glyphs from *MesZL*²."
/>
<p>
<Markdown
text="Following Borger’s request in *MesZL*² p. viii, the very few deviations of
the electronic edition with respect to the printed version of the sign list
are marked in a"
/>{' '}
<span className="Introduction__meszlColoredChanges">
different color
</span>
<Markdown
text=". These deviations have the goal of correcting
the very few typos of the first and second editions, such as the repeated
paragraph in p. 418 (see [here](https://www.ebl.lmu.de/signs/DIŠ))."
/>
</p>
<MarkdownParagraph
text="R. Borger himself was rather skeptical regarding the possible digitization of
his *MesZL*. In the preface to his second edition, he states: “Hin und wieder
wird geträumt vom Ersatz der Buch-Fassung durch eine Internet-Fassung. Der
geistige Nährwert des Umwegs über das Internet scheint mir sehr gering. Die
technischen Probleme solch einer Umsetzung dürften kaum lösbar sein. Ich nehme
übrigens an, dass mein Buch die heutigen Internet-“Publikationen” und CDs lange
überleben wird” (p. viii). It is hoped that the care that the eBL team has put into the
digitization of his *magnum opus* would have met his standards of acceptability."
/>
<MarkdownParagraph
text="The entire *MesZL*², not only the third chapter reproduced on this website,
is an indispensable tool for reading cuneiform texts, and all users of the eBL
sign interface are encouraged to buy the book from Ugarit-Verlag, following
[this link](https://ugarit-verlag.com/en/products/0e8e7ca5d1f5493aa351e3ebc42fb514)."
/>
<h3>III. Fossey, Manuel d’assyriologie II</h3>
<figure className="Introduction__photoRight">
<img
className="Introduction__250px"
src={fossey}
alt="Fossey, Manuel d’assyriologie II"
/>
<figcaption className="Introduction__caption">
Fossey, <em>Manuel d’assyriologie II</em>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<MarkdownParagraph
text="Fossey’s monumental *Manuel d’assyriologie* II (Paris, 1926) is still today
the most comprehensive repertoire of cuneiform signs. The collection of signs from all periods
and regions known in Fossey’s day has aged well and, although many additional periods,
cities, and sign forms could be added today, the book remains unsurpassed."
/>
<MarkdownParagraph
text="Following the book’s entrance into public domain in 2016, Fossey’s *Manuel* is currently
being digitized by a joint team led by E. Jiménez and Sh. Gordin. R. Borger’s concordance
of Fossey’s list, included in the second chapter of his *Mesopotamisches Zeichenlexikon*,
was digitized by E. Gogokhia, and forms the basis for the display of the book on the eBL website.
W. Sommerfeld, who led a team that digitized and updated the sections of Fossey’s manual concerned with
third-millennium palaeography, has kindly made his materials available to the eBL platform."
/>
<h3>IV. Palaeography</h3>
<p>
The tool for tagging images of cuneiform tablets that is at the core of
the palaeography section was implemented by J. Laasonen and Y. Cobanoglu
in the framework of the project “Searching through Ancient Libraries:
New Statistical Indexing Methods for 2D Images of Cuneiform Documents”
(Y. Cohen, E. Jiménez, Sh. Gordin), financed by a Call for Joint
Research Project on Data Science between Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität
München (LMU) and Tel Aviv University (TAU).
</p>
<p>
The entire eBL team has contributed to the tagging of tablets, but the
labor of N. Wenner, L. Sáenz, M. Fadhil, S. Cohen, and in particular E.
Gogokhia, should be singled out. More tablets are being tagged daily.
Furthermore, a system for automatically labeling photographs has been
implemented and is undergoing refinement.
</p>
<h3>V. Sign Order</h3>
<Markup
markupService={markupService}
text="The direct order of Neo-Assyrian signs is taken from @bib{RN680};
that of Neo-Babylonian signs follows @bib{RN680@693–706}. The reverse order
of Neo-Assyrian follows the order of @bib{kataja1988reverse}. The reverse
order of the Neo-Babylonian signs has been established by E. Jiménez and
S. Cohen using the list of Neo-Babylonian forms in @bib{RN680@693–706}; a
complete list of Neo-Babylonian signs in reverse order can be downloaded
@url{https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11645437}{here}."
/>
</>
)
}