Manar al-Athar

Manar al-Athar is a photo archive based at the Faculty of Classics at the University of Oxford which aims to provide high-quality[1] open-access images of archaeological sites and buildings. The archive's collection focuses on areas of the Roman Empire which later came under Islamic rule,[2][3] namely the Levant, North Africa, Turkey, Georgia and Armenia. As of June 2022, the archive holds more than 83,000 unique images. Particular strengths include Late antiquity,[1] as well as the transition from paganism to Christianity and later to Islam.[4]

Manar al-Athar
Formation2012 (2012)
FounderJudith McKenzie
TypeOpen-access photo archive
HeadquartersFaculty of Classics, University of Oxford
Director
Ine Jacobs
Websitehttps://www.manar-al-athar.ox.ac.uk

The archive licenses its images under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license;[5] the images can be used for any non-commercial purpose, including in academic publications, and are jointly labelled in English and Arabic to encourage usage by academics and students around the world.

History

Manar al-Athar was founded in 2012 by Judith McKenzie, archaeologist and Associate Professor of Late Antique Egypt and the Holy Land at the University of Oxford.[6] Its creation was inspired by McKenzie's experience lecturing at Birzeit University in Palestine; she discovered that her students were not able to visit most of the Palestinian monuments which she was discussing, and thus sought to Manar al-Athar to provide open-access images for such students and academics to use.[7] McKenzie was the Director of Manar al-Athar from its conception until her death in 2019; since 2020, the archive's director has been Ine Jacobs, Associate Professor of Byzantine Archaeology and Visual Culture at the University of Oxford.[8]

Publications

Manar al-Athar sponsors a publication series, and as of June 2022 has published the following works:

  • 2019. J Gnisci (ed.) Treasures of Ethiopia and Eritrea in the Bodleian Library, Oxford
  • 2018. E Maucaulay-Lewis et al. Bayt Fahri and the Sephardic Palaces of Ottoman Damascus in the Late 18th and 19th Centuries†
  • 2016. J. McKenzie and F. Watson, et al. The Garima Gospels: Early Illuminated Gospel Books from Ethiopia
  • 2013. J. McKenzie et al. The Nabatean Temple at Khirbet et-Tannur. Volume 2: Cultic Offerings, Vessels and Other Specialist Reports†
  • 2013. J. McKenzie et al. The Nabatean Temple at Khirbet et-Tannur. Volume 1: Architecture and Religion†

† indicates works published jointly with the American Schools of Orient Research.

References
  1. Decheva, Prolet (31 October 2021). "Trace the Untraceable: Online Image Search Tools for Researching Late Antique Art". Heritage. 4 (4): 4076–4104. doi:10.3390/heritage4040225.
  2. "6. Manar al-Athar". Institute of Sacred Music - Yale University. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  3. Rauterberg, Matthias, ed. (2021). Culture and Computing - Interactive Cultural Heritage and Arts. Springer. p. 18.
  4. "Manar al-Athar Open Access Photo Archive". Culture in Crisis. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  5. "Copyright". Manar al-Athar. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  6. Walmsley, Alan (7 April 2020). "Judith McKenzie 1957-2019". The Journal of the Council for British Research in the Levant. 51 (1): 1–5. doi:10.1080/00758914.2020.1741886. S2CID 216489086.
  7. McQuitty, Alison (2 July 2020). "Judith McKenzie 1957-2019". Palestine Exploration Quarterly. 152 (2): 80–81. doi:10.1080/00310328.2020.1769339. S2CID 221051637.
  8. "Team". Manar al-Athar. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
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