CSMC Newsletter

The erasure of text from writing surfaces and their subsequent reuse was never simply a matter of economic necessity, but rather a much more complex practice that, in a wide range of contexts, could serve a great variety of different functions. Erasing and Rewriting in Manuscript Cultures: Practices of Text Obliteration and Manuscript Reuse in a Global Perspective, which has just appeared as volume 48 in the Studies in Manuscript Cultures series, systematically explores the relation between the ephemerality of the written word and the reusability of its supports. Structured in two main parts, the book begins with studies of materials designed for frequent and recursive rewriting, such as clay and wax tablets used in the ancient Near East and the classical and medieval Mediterranean. It then turns to supports that allow for more limited reuse, including papyrus, parchment, and wood, offering case studies from Egypt, the Islamic world, Japan, and West Africa. Like almost all volumes of the series, it is available open access and can be downloaded from the publisher’s website.

The Museum of Anatolian Civilisations in Ankara houses a particularly important collection of sealed cuneiform letters, originating from major excavation sites such as Hattusa and Kültepe. These texts are believed to provide crucial insights into the economic, legal, and private affairs of the inhabitants of these early settlements. This October, the ENCI team of the CSMC visited this museum for the second time to scan a large number of tablets with their mobile CT scanner. Following their stay there, during which they were visited by Sibylle Katharina Sorg, the German Ambassador to Ankara, the team continued to the Archaeological Museum in Kayseri, where they also examined ceramics and clay objects such as cups, small pots, a glass figurine from the Hellenistic period, an alabaster idol, golden earrings, corroded ancient coins, and many very small engraved gemstones.

At the Second Fujairah International Conference for Calligraphy and Ornamentation (FICCO 25), held in al-Fujairah from 18–19 October 2025, Khaoula Trad represented the CSMC with a paper highlighting the unique visual traditions of West African manuscripts. Her presentation, titled ‘Visual Expression in the Timbuktu Collection: Insights into West African Manuscript Culture’, dealt with the region’s rich artistic and cultural heritage within the broader field of Islamic art. Her engagement in the conference was also marked by a special honour: She was received by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, the Crown Prince of al-Fujairah, in recognition of her scholarly contribution to the event.

Held in Potsdam from 16–19 September 2025 as part of the 48th German Conference on Artificial Intelligence (KI 2025), this year’s workshop on ‘Humanities-Centred Artificial Intelligence’ (CHAI) showcased several innovative projects. Highlights included new methods for tracing how people were trained in various occupations from the 1930s to the present using digital tools, and fresh insights into the technical, legal, and ethical challenges of publishing chatbots for public use. Another contribution demonstrated how advanced AI can help recover faded handwriting in historical documents, illustrating the importance of close collaboration between technical experts and humanities scholars. The newly published proceedings of the workshop provide open access to the latest developments of this research.

Agnieszka Helman-Wazny and Volker Grabowsky have been travelling throughout Central and Southeast Asia for many years to document and research the diverse techniques of paper production in this region, many of which are now disappearing. On their most recent trip, they had the rare opportunity to observe the production of mon paper, which is rarely produced even by the few individuals who have mastered this technique and can only be made at certain times of the year. In their travelogue, the CSMC researchers describe this extraordinary occasion: ‘We started early in the morning, as temperatures would soon become unbearable. Our journey took us across muddy rice fields and a river. The papermakers explained that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find these plants [local lianas], as they grow in teak (Tectona grandis) forests, which are gradually being replaced by rubber plantations, a more profitable enterprise for local villagers.’