Representing a Roman Portrait: An investigation of archaeological digitisation

Abstract: This thesis aims to explore the uses for digitised information in the archaeological knowledge process, specifically on how it can be used when studying Roman portraits. By communicating the entire process from data acquisition and analysis to knowledge transmission and mediation, I hope to indicate strengths and weaknesses in the use of digital representations as a proxy for a physical artefact. The thesis also includes an intermedial analysis on how information has been transmitted in museum catalogues as a part of a reflexive approach to the information selection process. The dataset of selected and produced information will then be used to test different digital environments and lead to a discussion on different types of media’s suitability for knowledge transmission and digital literacy in archaeology. The result of this thesis is to illuminate the ways that digitisation of artefacts in material collections is similar or differentiates from other types of archaeological digitisation.