ANCIENT CARTHAGE AND HEARTLAND RESEARCH

Today, for an hour and a half, we had a video conference to discuss with fourteen colleagues and associates from three countries and eight states the preparation of an application for the U.S. Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation in Tunisia.

Heartland Research is working in close cooperation with Ery’j B.Sassi Trimech, President and Founder of Association Didon de Carthage, قرطاج تونس in Tunisia. By working with this organization, we seek to help Ery’j secure funding for the 3D scanning of stone inscriptions in and around Carthage.

We know that the language and culture of the Phoenicians were cut in stone in North Africa more than 2,000 years ago.

Thousands of artifacts in Tunisia tell of the most important seafarers of the ancient world. Heartland Research owns the world’s oldest ship replica that Captain Philip Beale sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Carthage, Tunisia, to Miami, Florida.

We want to create a catalog showing the images and locations of hundreds of stone inscriptions in Tunisia. We will bring the computing skills of the modern world to these ancient artifacts. In so doing, we will significantly add to the existing knowledge of the people who, in 600 B.C., had the technology to build ships that could sail from the Old World to America 2,000 years before Columbus.

Jerome Baillargeon, representing SCANTECH Digital Inc., presented the background on his capabilities. He told how digitizing stone inscriptions would allow a more dynamic representation of carved Punic inscriptions. With laser scanning and other techniques, it is possible to create highly detailed virtual models of stone inscriptions. These engraved images will be displayed in various ways, for example, using raking light to accentuate fine features. By uploading models to websites or embedding them in other digital resources, these models can also be manipulated by users, allowing ‘virtual’ interaction with the stones. The 3D digital images will help preserve the cultural heritage of the Punic people.

Our video conference had participants from Iowa, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Idaho, Florida, Oregon, Canada, Brazil, and Tunisia.

Blaise Colasante and Mike Stahlman gave a live report from the Phoenicia Workshop on the banks of the Mississippi in Iowa. Jerome Baillargeon from Quebec City told us that he represents the company with the world’s best technology for scanning significant archeological artifacts.

The primary purpose of the video conference was to determine how Heartland Research can help the Association Didon de Carthage prepare the funding application for the U.S. Ambassador in Tunisia. This application needs to be ready by November.

Ery’j B.Sassi took thirty minutes to tell us how we can help her write the funding application. She will lead as we move forward with the proposed project.