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Crowdsourcing Ancient Egyptian Scrolls

Posted by samzenpus on from the ancient-group-work dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Dons at Oxford University were on the BBC Radio 4 'Today' program this morning asking for help from listeners to transcribe unearthed ancient Egyptian texts and scrolls via their website. Visitors to the site are asked to match-up letters on scanned fragments of papyrus with an on-screen Greek alphabet. By doing so, they can help reveal some of the amazing documents that the ancient Egyptians last read. You too can become a papyrologist!"

10 of 94 comments (clear)

  1. Oh fuck Hellenistic period Egypt! by elrous0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Greek? You expect me to help translate Ptolemaic period shit?!?!? Do I *look* like Alexander the Fucking Great to you?

    You want my help, you better throw down some hieroglyphs, bitch!

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    1. Re:Oh fuck Hellenistic period Egypt! by Mindcontrolled · · Score: 4, Funny

      Oh my, this has the theoretical potential for a truly epic flame war. I suppose you'd prefer documents out of the 18th dynasty, too? Akhenaten's unspeakable monotheistic heresy and shit like that? Some fries with it, perhaps?

      --
      Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
    2. Re:Oh fuck Hellenistic period Egypt! by DriedClexler · · Score: 2, Funny

      Greek is easier to reed than hieroglyphics.

      --
      Information theory is life. The rest is just the KL divergence.
    3. Re:Oh fuck Hellenistic period Egypt! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

      Suck my dick bitch!

      -Alexander The Great

    4. Re:Oh fuck Hellenistic period Egypt! by hedwards · · Score: 4, Funny

      Indeed, why don't they just use EMACS, it does have the appropriate function built in.

  2. Crowdcursed? by kiehlster · · Score: 4, Funny

    No thanks. I hear those Egyptian curses are nasty, and are acquired by simply reading something or breaking a seal.

    1. Re:Crowdcursed? by TubeSteak · · Score: 4, Funny

      No thanks. I hear those Egyptian curses are nasty, and are acquired by simply reading something or breaking a seal.

      PHds have always treated grad students as disposable.

      --
      [Fuck Beta]
      o0t!
    2. Re:Crowdcursed? by jellomizer · · Score: 3, Funny

      That is how you measure success. If everyone in your data center dies, then the translation worked.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  3. There's your problem... by Comboman · · Score: 3, Funny

    There's your problem. These symbols that you're translating as "Door of Heaven" should be something more like "Star Gate".

    --
    Support Right To Repair Legislation.
  4. Re:I'm disappointed by Quince+alPillan · · Score: 4, Funny

    That information failed to meet the notability guidelines and was deleted per the official deletion policy. Backups from that time period were written over a short time later under the assumption that the information would no longer be needed. Later attempts to put the information back were prevented due to the no original research policy and an ill-informed admin with a grudge who wouldn't allow the information, citing the sources being used were unreliable and could not be verified.