'AIS-Mîn-Panos'

Abstract: The following is a preliminary report about the Mîn-Panos-Project, a fundamental goal of which is the development of an archaeological information system for the Panopolite Nome (Akhmîm) in Upper Egypt. The AIS contains primary data based on on-site surveys, remote sensing, and new in-depth research of museum stock, as well as secondary data like published and unpublished field reports, documentations plus records from archives, libraries, and museums. The AIS consists of a data base with GIS- and mapping functionalities and is planned to be available on the internet free access. Its objective is to support and sustain interdisciplinary research on the history of the Ninth Nome of Upper Egypt with its metropolis Panopolis, modern Akhmîm, a region which was of major historic importance, especially for the history of religion during the first millenium AD. Applying an archaeological information system to research into the sacred landscape of a defined region allows not only to improve the processing of huge amounts of data but also to visualize the changing topography of the region, and to identify ancient ritual sites that were hitherto only known from literary sources.