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MERCURY - computational modelling in Roman studies

Project MERCURY promotes and encourages computer modelling to better understand and work with archaeological material using data from, among others, the Danish-German Jerash Northwest Quarter project and the Ceramics in Context project.

Photo: Project MERCURY.

The MERCURY project was funded by the Leverhulme Trust as an early career fellowship awarded to Dr Tom Brughmans (Oxford University). The project has gathered a bibliography, a dataset based on open access sources, and tutorials for computer modelling, as well as an explanation for why computer modelling can be an asset when making hypotheses based on archaeological findings. Futhermore, the project takes on five case studies, including amphora reuse using pottery from Jerash, and urban networks.

The MERCURY project is affiliated with the Oxford Roman Economy Project, and the project uses materials from the Danish-German Jerash Northwest Quarter project and the Ceramics in Context project. The high-definition data from the excavation combined with the computer modelling of MERCURY makes an excellent base for developing economical theories.

If you wish to read more about how computer modelling might be relevant in interpreting and making hypotheses for archaeological findings, please visit: https://projectmercury.eu/why-model/.