Data model

What the fields of a record mean, how identifiers and dates are written, how the text is encoded, what each controlled term stands for, and how to get the data. The vocabularies and their counts are read from the live database; the rest describes conventions the data follows.

Identifiers

`ART`	An inscription recorded by the ArmEpiC project (ART0001–ART0078).	`urn:armepic:artsakh:ins:<id>`
`DHV5_`	An inscription published in Divan hay vimagrutyan vol. 5, numbered as in the volume (DHV5_0042 = N 42).	`urn:armepic:artsakh:ins:<id>`
`MON_`	A monument: a monastery, church, cemetery or other site holding inscriptions.	`urn:armepic:artsakh:mon:<id>`
`SUBMON_`	A part of a monument: a church within a monastery, a narthex, a khachkar in a group.	`urn:armepic:artsakh:mon:<id>`
`PLC_`	A settlement or locality.	`urn:armepic:artsakh:place:<id>`
`REG_`	A region.	—
`CTR_`	A country.	—
`OBJ_`	Kind of object the text is carved on (object type).	`urn:armepic:objecttype:<id>`
`INSTYPE_`	Kind of inscription (donation, construction, memorial…).	`urn:armepic:inscriptiontype:<id>`
`MAT_`	Material of the object.	`urn:armepic:material:<id>`
`TEC_`	How the text was made (carved, incised…).	`urn:armepic:technique:<id>`
`SCR_`	Script (e.g. erkatagir, bolorgir).	`urn:armepic:script:<id>`
`COND_`	State of preservation.	`urn:armepic:preservation:<id>`
`BIBL_`	A publication in the bibliography.	`urn:armepic:bibl:<id>`
`SRC_`	The body of work a record comes from (its provenance).	—

A record, field by field

Identity and provenance

Identifier `xml_id`	The permanent identifier of the record and the last part of its address, https://armenianepigraphy.com/inscriptions/<identifier>. Never renumbered, never reused; a renamed record keeps answering at its old identifier.
Source `source`	The body of work the record comes from (ArmEpiDoc, or the community transcription of Divan hay vimagrutyan vol. 5). Each source has a colour on the map.
Source record `source_record_id`	The record's number in its source, e.g. the Airtable id of a community record.
What the reading rests on `edition_basis`	image: checked by an editor against a photograph published here. print: follows a printed edition, checked against its page. document: follows a contributor's own documentation of the monument. none: no reading yet.
Created / last revised `created_at / updated_at`	When the record was created and when it was last saved. The suggested citation carries the revision date so a reader can say which state of the record they read.

Where the inscription is

Monument, part of monument `monument / submonument`	The monument (a monastery, a church, a cemetery) and, where the source says so, the part of it that carries the text (a narthex, one church of a complex, one khachkar of a group).
Settlement `place`	The settlement a record is placed at when its source locates it only that far. A record on a monument is at the monument's settlement.
Coordinates `latitude / longitude`	Taken from the most specific position known: the part of the monument, else the monument, else the settlement. They are not a survey of the individual stone.
Position `layout_en / layout_hy`	Where on the monument or object the text is (the lintel over the western entrance, the north wall).

The object

Object type `object_type`	What the text is carved on: khachkar, tombstone, tympanum, wall, and so on.
Material `material`	The stone or other material.
Technique `technique`	How the text was made: carved, incised, and so on.
State of preservation `condition`	How much of the text survives; see the vocabulary below.
Dimensions, lines `dimensions_h / _w / _d, line_count`	Height, width and depth of the inscribed field in centimetres, and the number of lines of text.
Script `scripts`	The Armenian script the text is carved in (erkatagir, bolorgir…).
Kind of inscription `inscription_types`	What the text does: records a donation, a construction, a burial, a memorial.

Dates

Date as published `date_text`	The date as the source states it, e.g. "Armenian year 720 (1271 CE)".
Armenian date `date_armenian`	The date in the Armenian era: the numeral letters and the year, e.g. ՉԻ-720.
Gregorian date `date_gregorian`	The Gregorian date as text, which may be a year, a century ("13th century") or a range.
Exact year `date_gregorian_int`	A number, and only when the source gives an exact year. A century or a range is never stored here, so filtering on it never mistakes "13th century" for the year 13.
Range `date_not_before / date_not_after`	The earliest and latest year the dating allows. "13th century" is 1201–1300; "second half of the 17th century" is 1651–1700. The date filter uses these, so a record dated only to a century is found by any range that century meets.
Precision `date_precision`	high, medium or low, as in TEI @precision. One record carries "estimated", which is not a TEI value and is left out of its TEI file.
Evidence `date_evidence`	What the dating rests on: an internal date, the lettering, the context.

The text

Edition (TEI) `edition_xml`	The text as TEI/EpiDoc, line by line, with the editorial signs encoded. This is what the record page shows as the interpretive edition and what the TEI file contains.
Diplomatic text `edition_diplomatic`	The text as carved, in plain text, one line per line of the stone.
Interpretive text `edition_interpretive`	The text normalised for reading, in plain text.
Translations `translation_en / translation_hy`	English and modern Armenian translations.
Commentary `commentary_en / commentary_hy`	Notes on the text, its persons and its context.
Transliteration `(derived) transliteration`	Produced by the page from the Armenian text in the Hübschmann-Meillet system. It is a reading aid, not a separate edition, and is not stored.

Evidence around the text

Images `images`	Three kinds, told apart on the record: a photograph of the stone; a drawing of the inscription (from a publication or a contributor); a scan of the printed page the text was published on. A page scan is not a photograph of the stone.
Bibliography `bibliography_citations`	The publications that carry the inscription, each with the page it is cited at.

Controlled vocabularies

Object types (OBJ_…, 22)

Term	Identifier	Meaning	Records
anchor · խարիսխ	`OBJ_ANCHOR`	Not yet defined	1
arch · կամար	`OBJ_ARCH`	Not yet defined	2
baptismal font · Մկրտության ավազան	`OBJ_BAPTISMAL_FONT`	Not yet defined	1
building stone · շինաքար	`OBJ_BUILDING_STONE`	Not yet defined	15
capital (of a column) · խոյակ	`OBJ_CAPITAL_COLUMN`	Not yet defined	3
chapel-tomb · Մատուռ-տապանատուն	`OBJ_CHAPEL_TOMB`	Not yet defined	0
column · սյուն	`OBJ_COLUMN`	Not yet defined	4
cornice · քիվ	`OBJ_CORNICE`	Not yet defined	1
covering slab / roofing stone · ծածկասալ	`OBJ_COVERING_SLAB`	Not yet defined	0
cross-slab · Խաչասալ	`OBJ_CROSS_SLAB`	The flat stone surface where the cross is carved	1
drum · թմբուկ	`OBJ_DRUM`	Not yet defined	0
entrance · մուտք	`OBJ_ENTRANCE`	Not yet defined	34
khachkar · խաչքար	`OBJ_KHACHKAR`	Cross-stone monument typical of Armenian culture.	217
landing · բեմառէջք	`OBJ_LANDING`	front side of the stage	1
lintel · ճակատակալ քար	`OBJ_LINTEL`	Horizontal stone above a doorway or portal.	3
plaster · ծեփ	`OBJ_PLASTER`	Not yet defined	3
pylon · մույթ	`OBJ_PYLON`	Not yet defined	6
slab · սալաքար	`OBJ_SLAB`	Not yet defined	12
tombstone · տապանաքար	`OBJ_TOMBSTONE`	Not yet defined	80
tympanum · բարավոր	`OBJ_TYMPANUM`	A tympanum (plural: tympana) is the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface located over an entrance, bounded by a lintel below and an arch above.	39
wall · պատ	`OBJ_WALL`	Not yet defined	72
wall / wall niche · որմնահեց / որմնախարիսխ	`OBJ_NICHE`	Not yet defined	3

Kinds of inscription (INSTYPE_…, 9)

Term	Identifier	Meaning	Records
բարեմաղթանքային	`INSTYPE_BAREMAGHTANQAYIN`	Not yet defined	0
Commemorative · հիշատակագրային	`INSTYPE_COMMEMORATIVE`	Not yet defined	26
Construction · շինարարական	`INSTYPE_CONSTRUCTION`	Not yet defined	31
Donation · նվիրատվական	`INSTYPE_DONATION`	Not yet defined	21
Epitaph · տապանագիր	`INSTYPE_EPITAPH`	Not yet defined	4
Khachkar erection · խաչքարի կանգնեցում	`INSTYPE_KHACHKAR_ERECTION`	This can be a subtype of constriction, commemoration.	5
Votive	`INSTYPE_VOTIVE`	Not yet defined	0
canonical-legal · կանոնաիրավական	`INSTYPE_CANONICAL_LEGAL`	Not yet defined	1
religious-ethical · կրոնաբարոյախոսական	`INSTYPE_RELIGIOUS_ETHICAL`	Not yet defined	1

Materials (MAT_…, 9)

Term	Identifier	Meaning	Records
basalt · բազալտ	`MAT_BASALT`	Dark volcanic rock	9
felsit · ֆելզիտ	`MAT_FELSIT`	Not yet defined	0
granite · գրանիտ	`MAT_GRANITE`	Not yet defined	0
limestone · կրաքար	`MAT_LIMESTONE`	Sedimentary rock	43
marble · մարմար	`MAT_MARBLE`	Metamorphic rock	2
paint/pigment · ներկ	`MAT_PAINT`	Not yet defined	2
red paint · կարմրաներկ	`MAT_PAINT_RED`	Not yet defined	1
sandstone · ավազաքար	`MAT_SANDSTONE`	Sedimentary rock	6
tuff · տուֆ	`MAT_TUFF`	Volcanic tite	1

Techniques (TEC_…, 5)

Term	Identifier	Meaning	Records
Carved · փորագիր	`TEC_CARVED`	Incised into stone surface	66
Inlaid	`TEC_INLAID`	Set into prepared grooves	0
Painted · ներկագիր	`TEC_PAINTED`	Painted on surface	2
Relief · ելնդագիր	`TEC_RELIEF`	Raised from stone surface	2
Scratched · քերծագիր	`TEC_SCRATCHED`	Lightly scratched (graffiti)	0

Scripts (SCR_…, 11)

Term	Identifier	Meaning	Records
Bolorgir · Բոլորգիր	`SCR_BOLORGIR`	Developed from small Erkatagir in the 10th–11th centuries; became the dominant book hand between the 13th and 16th centuries.	2
Bolorgits Erkatagir · Բոլորգիծ երկաթագիր	`SCR_BOLORGITS_ERKATGIR`	Rounded variant of Erkatagir, known as the original Mashtotsian form, characterized by curved letter junctions.	59
Erkatagir · Երկաթագիր	`SCR_ERKATAGIR`	Primary monumental script used in early Armenian inscriptions (5th–13th centuries).	0
Glkhagir · Գլխագիր	`SCR_GLKHAGIR`	Majuscule form used for initials and headings in inscriptions and manuscripts across all script traditions.	0
Grchagir · Գրչագիր	`SCR_GRCHAGIR`	Rectilinear Armenian book hand, also known as “Aghyusakagir” or “Takhtagir,” with vertical and horizontal right-angled junctions.	0
Notrgir · Նոտրգիր	`SCR_NOTRGIR`	Derived from Bolorgir, a cursive notarial hand designed for fast writing, common between the 13th and 18th centuries.	0
Shghagir · Շղագիր	`SCR_SHGHAGIR`	Initially a writing method that evolved into a distinct cursive script derived from Bolorgir and Notrgir.	0
Trchnagir · Թռչնագիր	`SCR_TRCHNAGIR`	Decorative script in which letters are formed as birds or animals, common in medieval illuminated manuscripts.	0
Tsaghkagir · Ծաղկագիր	`SCR_TSAGHKAGIR`	Floral variant of Zardagir with ornamental vine and plant motifs.	0
Ughghagits Erkatagir · Ուղղագիծ երկաթագիր	`SCR_UGHGHAGITS_ERKATAGIR`	Rectilinear variant of Erkatagir with angular, orthogonal junctions, sometimes termed “Middle Mashtotsian.”	2
Zardagir · Զարդագիր	`SCR_ZARDAGIR`	Ornamental script used for decorated initials and headings; variants include Tsaghkagir and Trchnagir.	0

States of preservation (COND_…, 11)

Term	Identifier	Meaning	Records
broken · կոտրված	`COND_BROKEN`	The inscription or object is broken	1
complete · ամբողջական	`COND_COMPLETE`	The inscription or object is preserved in its entirety	0
fair · բավարար	`COND_FAIR`	The inscription is preserved well enough to be read, recorded, and analysed, even if incomplete or worn.	41
fragmentary · բեկորային	`COND_FRAGMENTARY`	The inscription survives only in fragments.	3
fragmented, then completed · բեկորված, ապա ամբողջացված	`COND_FRAGMENTED_RESTORED`	Not yet defined	5
good · լավ	`COND_GOOD`	The inscription or object is well preserved	16
intact · անվնաս	`COND_INTACT`	The inscription or object is intact and undamaged.	0
lost · կորսված	`COND_LOST`	սակայն հայտնի է ըստ պատճենների կամ հիշատակների։	1
mutilated · եղծված	`COND_MUTILATED`	The inscription is deliberately damaged or defaced; traces of erasure or destruction are visible.	0
partial/partially preserved · մասամբ պահպանված	`COND_PARTIAL`	The inscription or object is not preserved in its entirety; some parts are missing.	7
weathered · հողմահարված	`COND_WEATHERED`	Affected by long-term exposure to natural environmental agents (such as wind, rain, temperature variation, and dust), resulting in surface wear and partial loss of material, while the inscription remains at least partially legible.	2

Sources (SRC_…, 2)

ArmEpiDoc	`SRC_ARMEPIDOC`	ArmEpiC / ArmEpiDoc project master data: the curated Excel data-entry workbook plus per-inscription EpiDoc capture XML and field photographs.	77
Community Narek C.	`SRC_COMMUNITY_NAREK_C`	Community transcription of Divan Hay Vimagrutyan vol. 5 (Artsakh, S. Barkhudaryan 1982) maintained in Airtable; drawings and page scans from the printed corpus.	580

Reading the text: the editorial signs

⸢ ⸣	Letters supplied by the editor: lost or damaged on the stone. TEI <supplied>.
⸤ ⸥	An abbreviation written out by the editor. TEI <expan> with <abbr> and <ex>.
dotted underline	Letters read with doubt. TEI <unclear>.
[---]	A gap: text lost, with its extent where known. TEI <gap>.
{ }	Letters the carver wrote in error. TEI <surplus>.
⟦ ⟧	Text erased on the stone. TEI <del>.
line number	The line of the inscription, numbered as it is carved. TEI <lb n="…"/>.
\|\|	A new column. TEI <cb/>.
blank space	Uncut space left on the stone (vacat). TEI <space/>.
⎣ ⎦ and ․․․	In the plain-text fields, taken over from contributors' documents: supplied letters are written ⎣ ⎦ and lost letters ․․․. They are plain characters, not TEI markup; search ignores them.

Getting the data

A record	`https://armenianepigraphy.com/inscriptions/<identifier>`	A page with the text, place, bibliography and a suggested citation. The address is permanent.
A record's TEI/EpiDoc	`https://armenianepigraphy.com/inscriptions/<identifier>.xml`	The full TEI file, validated against the EpiDoc 9.7 schema.
The whole corpus	`https://epigraphyatlasback-986826173967.europe-southwest1.run.app/api/inscriptions/tei-corpus/`	One zip: a TEI file per record, a manifest, the licence and a CITATION.cff. Versioned releases for citation are made with the export_tei_corpus command.
Harvesting (OAI-PMH 2.0)	`https://armenianepigraphy.com/oai`	Formats oai_dc and tei; one set per source (source:SRC_ARMEPIDOC…); selective by date; withdrawn records are reported as deleted.
The records as JSON	`https://epigraphyatlasback-986826173967.europe-southwest1.run.app/api/inscriptions/`	Filters: search (normalised, across the texts), settlement, monument_type, condition__xml_id, source__xml_id, edition_basis, has_edition, has_image, year_from, year_to. Reading needs no account.
These vocabularies	`https://epigraphyatlasback-986826173967.europe-southwest1.run.app/api/vocabularies/`	Every controlled term with its definition and how many records use it.
Every address	`https://armenianepigraphy.com/sitemap.xml`	The sitemap lists every record.