Colleagues from our Ajami Lab have continued their work on the Jos Museum manuscript collection at the Kaduna Museum in Nigeria. They established cataloguing and research procedures for identifying Ajami, and reviewed conservation principles relevant to the entire collection uhh.de/csmc-ajami

What impact did empires, both Ottoman and colonial, have on the culture and fate of Maghrebi book collections? Join us for Augustin Jomier's Gotha Manuscript Talk "At the Crossroads of Empires: North African Libraries in the 19th Century", 4 March, 6:15 CET. @csmc-hamburg.bsky.social @inalco.fr 1/2

"Magische Zeichen" und wie man sie entziffert sind das Thema der aktuellen Folge von Terra X. Wie sie die Rätsel lösen, vor die so manches Schriftartefakt die Forschung bisher stellte, erklären darin auch mehrere Wissenschaftler:innen des CSMC! 📺Sonntag um 19:30 im ZDF und in der Mediathek:

📢 Call for applicants! We are delighted to announce the SIMS-CSMC Fellowship, set up with our colleagues @sims-mss.bsky.social. It supports innovative approaches to the study of manuscripts and includes time at SIMS in Philadelphia and at CSMC in Hamburg. Apply by 1 May 2026! More info:

Comparative Oriental Manuscript Studies Bulletin Vol. 11, Nos. 1-2 (2025) www.aai.uni-hamburg.de/en/comst/pub... @csmc-hamburg.bsky.social #openaccess @petertarras.bsky.social

Our colleague Stephan Seifert has completed his tenure process, congratulations! At our centre, the Chemist has led a project on the ‘Bioinformatic Profiling of Written Artefacts’, and he is a member of the Palm-Leaf Manuscript Profiling Initiative (PLMPI) www.csmc.uni-hamburg.de/news/2026-02...

✍️ Schrift ist eine geniale Erfindung: Durch sie lebt die Vergangenheit fort. Aber was, wenn die Schrift noch in Tonumschlägen steckt, die nicht zerstört werden sollen? Terra X hat dafür bei Forschenden des Exzellenzclusters „Understanding Written Artefacts“ am @csmc-hamburg.bsky.social nachgefragt.

Come and study with us! Our renewed 2‑year MA Manuscript Cultures is now accepting applications until 31 March. The extended programme lets you develop a strong individual research profile while preserving the interdisciplinary approach to global written artefacts that defines our work at the CSMC:

This Wednesday, the DiPiKA Lecture Series on Manuscript Cultures continues with a talk by Yamuna K., who will talk about the 'Kerala School of Sanskrit Grammar and its Manuscript Legacy'. Join us online! The talk starts at 10:30 am CET.

Using our mobile CT scanner ENCI, our researchers have produced a high-resolution 3D reconstruction of the well‑known Georgian manuscript MS 2058/1, the Sinai Lectionary. This and more contributions from CSMC members are available in the latest open-access issue of ‘Digital Kartvelology’:

A worthwhile podcast also addressing the special situation here in Hamburg:

Now online: *Between Hamburg and Jerusalem* A new digital exhibition traces the material remains of German-Jewish history in the early 20th century. It’s based on archives we digitised together with the National Library of Israel and was developed together with @igdjhh.bsky.social

One more week to submit nominations! The J.P. Gumbert Dissertation Award honours the best PhD thesis on any aspect of manuscript studies defended in 2025. The winner receives 5,000 EUR and a fellowship at the CSMC

„Liest sich wie ein Theaterkrimi!“ Das neue Buch unserer Kollegin Laura-Maxine Kalbow erzählt die Geschichte der „Parsifal“-Inszenierung Alexander Zemlinskys am Neuen Deutschen Theater in Prag. Eine begeisterte Besprechung ist in Treffpunkt Klassik im SWR zu hören www.ardaudiothek.de/episode/urn:...

We're looking forward to the first public talk at our centre in 2026! Tomorrow at 6:15 pm CET, LIAO Xiaoying (EPHE, Paris) will be discussing 'The Circulation and Influence of Traditional Law in the Sinographic Cosmopolis' with us. Hybrid event, all welcome! uhh.de/csmc-liao-xi...

Today is Handwriting Day, and we are celebrating it in a truly fitting manner: our new colleagues present their research in a flash talk marathon using 25 written artefacts. This marks the end of two intensive kick-off weeks in our new old cluster of excellence. More info here: uhh.de/csmc-uwa2

Welcome back! Somewhere onboard this ship is our Container Lab, which was stationed in Puducherry, India, for the past 1.5 years to study historical palm-leaf manuscripts. It has now safely returned to Hamburg and is awaiting its next mission

Unfolding the multiple lives of a shipbuilding manuscript: Our first Artefact of the Month in 2026 is known as 'Fragments of Ancient English Shipwrighty' and reveals the interactions between mathematics and practice in the Scientific Revolution: uhh.de/csmc-aom-35

How did the physical properties of materials like wax or clay shape acts of writing, rewriting, and erasure in the ancient Near East? These questions were at the heart of our joint workshop with the TabulaRasa project last year. Read the report here: tabularasa.hypotheses.org/2612

Sources are the raw material of historical analysis, but their evidence is often qualitatively or quantitatively lacking – and sometimes entirely absent. The new volume of SMC explores the vast territory of missing evidence in the study of ancient cultures: uhh.de/csmc-smc-50

Everyday writings, often following no fixed plan, are likely to account for the majority of all handwritten production in human history. The new volume of Studies in Manuscript Cultures explores how the practice of taking notes shapes written artefacts and vice versa. Open access! uhh.de/csmc-notes

In the historiography of the Silk Road, Central Asian peoples such as the Uyghurs have so far played only a minor role. Wrongly so, argues historian Márton Vér. In his @erc.europa.eu project, he turns the history of this complex supra-network on its head. Interview: uhh.de/csmc-silk-road

‘Pearls and corals’: the meaning of ‘Manipravalam’ is as poetic as this language is important to the history of South India. In our interview, Suganya Anandakichenin explains how she will deepen our understanding of it with her @erc.europa.eu Consolidator Grant: uhh.de/csmc-manipra...

We’re celebrating a milestone today: 50 volumes of ‘Studies in Manuscript Cultures’! Join us for a look back at the series’ history and a glimpse into the newest volumes: uhh.de/csmc-smc-jub... Hybrid event, all welcome! Almost all volumes are open access – plenty to read for the holiday season!

Starting tomorrow, we are hosting our last workshop of the year. We are literally ending 2025 with a home game: “Inscribing Domestic Space(s)” sheds light on writing practices within one’s own four walls from a global perspective. Hybrid event, all welcome! uhh.de/csmc-domesti...

Congratulations to Suganya Anandakichenin and Márton Ver! The two CSMC researchers have been awarded @erc.europa.eu Consolidator Grants today. Here’s what they plan to do with it: uhh.de/csmc-erc #ERCCoG

Another update from our Ajami project: On his recent trip, Dmitry Bondarev visited the University of Maiduguri and the Centre for Kanuri Ajami and Qur’anic Studies to plan new initiatives for safeguarding the written heritage of North East Nigeria uhh.de/csmc-unimaid

The new volume in our book series takes you to places of dirt, sweat, and physical labour: archives. Their material features have long been neglected by scholarship. Yet, they are crucial sites of human interaction with written artefacts. Open access! uhh.de/csmc-archives

Das Zuhause war schon immer ein Ort der Schrift: Schutzsprüche an Türen, Einkaufslisten, Namen oder Inschriften in Mosaiken erzählen viel über die Bewohner eines Ortes & ihren Alltag. Internat. Konferenz @csmc-hamburg.bsky.social zur Rolle von Schriftartefakten in Wohnräumen, 11.+12.12. in der Stabi

Małgorzata Grzelec and Laura Gallardo Domínguez have just returned from their journey right into the heart of Mexico’s material writing culture, documenting local papermaking and dye production traditions. In our blog, they report on their trip: uhh.de/csmc-mexico

Update from our Ajami project: Our colleagues Dmitry Bondarev and Maria Luisa Russo recently visited Kaduna, Nigeria, to assess the current condition of the Jos Museum collection and to prepare a new project on the preservation and digitisation of these manuscripts: uhh.de/csmc-kaduna

They are not just written artefacts, but objects of art. Applying a broad spectrum of analytical tools, the new volume of our book series aims at providing the complete history of 65 tsakali cards from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Open acess! uhh.de/csmc-smc-45

#SaveTheDate An anonymous world chronicle originally composed in 713 CE, likely by a Syriac monk from Apamea, has remained almost unknown until now. In his Gotha Manuscript Talk, Adrian Pirtea speaks about the rediscovery of the only surviving copy! Wednesday, 26 November 2025, 6:15 CET

Join us today for our Digital Lunch Seminar: Leah Mascia and Stelios Aspiotis present their multi-analytical analysis of two Egyptian shabtis from @mkghamburg.bsky.social, dated between the 10th and 6th centuries BCE. 12:00 – 1:00 pm CET, on Zoom. All welcome! uhh.de/csmc-shabtis

Elisa Barney Smith is a pioneer in the analysis of historical documents. In our interview, she discusses how the field has evolved over the past 30 years and the projects she undertook during her fellowship at the CSMC: uhh.de/csmc-barney-...

How did oral and written traditions influence the transmission of sacred texts in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam? A new volume uncovers the complex interplay between spoken word and manuscript culture in the medieval Middle East: uhh.de/csmc-intersame Open access!

Announcing the J.P. Gumbert Dissertation Award 2025! 🏆 We are looking for the best PhD thesis on any aspect of manuscript studies defended between 1 Sep 2024 and 31 Dec 2025. The award includes a prize of 5,000 EUR and a fellowship at the CSMC. Apply by 6 February 2026! uhh.de/csmc-jpga-2025

To strengthen collaboration and exchange between our scholars and students in the study of Early #Chinese #manuscripts, we have ratified a Memorandum of Understanding with the renowned Research and Conservation Center for Unearthed Texts (RCCUT) at #Tsinghua University: uhh.de/csmc-rccut-mou

We are excited to announce that our cooperation with the renowned Matenadaran in Armenia has officially been extended. Together, we will keep exploring the Caucasus’s rich written heritage uhh.de/csmc-matenad...

The Tai Lü in Laos continue the craft of handmade mon paper, using local lianas to produce distinctive manuscripts. Agnieszka Helman-Ważny and Volker Grabowsky describe an ancient technique that endures despite the challenges posed by changing environments and modernisation: uhh.de/csmc-mon

We’re thrilled that @robertamazza.bsky.social is at the CSMC today! Tonight, she will give a talk on ‘Papyrology and Reparations’, addressing the regimes of violence, injustice, and inequality that papyrology has been enmeshed in since colonial times. Hybrid event, all welcome! uhh.de/csmc-mazza

The Gotha Manuscript Talks are back! Starting today, all four lectures are open to the public. Join the event here: uni-erfurt.webex.com/meet/veranst... @fbgotha.bsky.social

Das interdisziplinäre wiss. DFG-Netzwerk „Wort – Wirkung – Wunder“ fragt nach den kulturellen Paradigmen, die den wortmagischen Vorstellungen (vor)moderner Gesellschaften im Hinblick auf die Macht von #Sprache & Schrift zugrunde liegen. Workshop 5.-7.11. in der Stabi: blog.sub.uni-hamburg.de?p=41047

The history of writing cannot be told without the history of erasure and rewriting. The new volume of our book series ‘Studies in Manuscript Cultures’ takes a global perspective on text obliteration and manuscript reuse. Open access @dgb-mem.bsky.social uhh.de/csmc-smc-48

Applicants welcome! We're looking for a doctoral researcher in the field of X-ray phase-contrast imaging to work on deciphering writings composed of carbon-based inks: www.uni-hamburg.de/stellenangeb...

Workshop @csmc-hamburg.bsky.social: Translation Choices in Multilingual Written Artefacts Navigating Visual & Cultural Layers (24./25.10.) "Translation practices leave traces often as intricate as elusive. In many cases, the only surviving witnesses to these practices are the #artefacts themselves."

It's been busy weeks for our mobile CT scanner ENCI and our team: at the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations in Ankara and the Archaeological Museum in Kayseri, they analysed not only enclosed cuneiform tablets, but also cups, golden earrings and engraved gemstones, among others! uhh.de/csmc-enci-2025

Happy to announce that we have agreed on two new Memoranda of Understanding with the National Library and Archives of Bhutan and the National Library of Peru! The latter was signed today by Peru’s Consul General in Hamburg, Sandra Pinto La Fuente, and CSMC Director Konrad Hirschler: uhh.de/csmc-mou

📜 Briefe lesen, ohne die Umschläge zu beschädigen: Das ermöglicht ein Team des Exzellenzclusters „Understanding Written Artefacts“ (@csmc-hamburg.bsky.social) mit dem weltweit ersten mobilen CT-Scanner für Kulturgüter. In Ankara werden damit nun die Keilschrifttafeln Mesopotamiens untersucht.

‘Second Hands’ and ‘Second Thoughts’ are the theme of our workshop on multilayered written artefacts of 19th- and 20th-century Austrian and German music this week – including live performances on a grand piano! Registration is still open, also for online participation: uhh.de/csmc-second-...