Proposal to Togo Fund

Imperial Roman Coins of the McMaster Museum of Art

Proposal to the Togo Salmon Fund

In 2005 a team of students coordinated by Geoffrey Rockwell and Larissa Faulkner developed a research web site for the Republican Roman Coins in the collection of the McMaster Museum of Art (http://tapor1.mcmaster.ca/~coins/). This site was built with the help of the Honorary Coin Curator, Bruce Brace, a student in multimedia and a graduate student in Classics. We propose to build on this research resource by adding the Imperial coins in the collection, updating the web site, and creating new instructional materials around the collection.

The original project build a robust database, developed techniques for digitizing coins (with digital cameras rather than scanners) and developed a data model suitable for numismatic information. In addition we created a linked glossary, timelines, index and introductory essays to make the site a complete research and learning reference.

In this second phase of the project we propose to do the following:

1. Digitize the remaining Roman coins and selected others - approximately 150 coins
2. Enter and proof the numismatic information for each of these coins following the current data model
3. Update the interface to the site to fit with the McMaster Museum of Art site and to make it accessible to a broader educational audience.
4. Add digital tours through the content to make it useful to a broader audience.

We estimate we will need the following expertise:

• An undergraduate multimedia student with the requisite programming and interface design skills to do 1, 3 and 4. We estimate this will take 200 hours.
• A graduate student or senior undergraduate student with expertise in ancient coins and/or Roman history to do 2 and 4. We estimate this will take 200 hours.
• Support from Museum work/study students and staff.
• Materials for back up.

Coordination would come from Dr. Geoffrey Rockwell (for the design and programming components), Dr. Michele George (for the content components), and Carol Podedworny (for the interface with the Museum.) This project would benefit McMaster in a number of ways:

1. It would develop a research resource useful to students and researchers.
2. It would provide online access to information about the Museum's collection.
3. It would provide an electronic collection management tool to replace the current card based system.
4. It would provide students with valuable experience with scholarly electronic resource creation.
5. It would provide a context for collaboration between the Dept. of Classics, Multimedia and the Museum.

This project, if funded would run over the summer of 2007 with a view to having demonstrating the new site in September of 2007

Yours,

Geoffrey Rockwell, Michele George, and Carol Podedworny

-- GeoffreyRockwell - 26 Apr 2007