We are excited to announce a new version of the Oxford Expedition to Egypt: Scene-details Database, an ADS collection that has been a valuable resource for researchers since its original release in 2006. This update gives the database a new lease of life, making it more accessible and user-friendly for years to come.
The New ADS Web Templates
Since April 2024, the ADS has been using new web templates for archives. These templates were designed to be more accessible, mobile-friendly, and match the look of the new ADS website. While all archives currently being released use these new templates, we have also begun the process of migrating older collections.
The migration is relatively straightforward for archives that previously used a version of the ADS templates, but is more challenging for older collections, particularly those that pre-date our Collections Management System. These older archives often lack key components like object IDs, which are an important aspect of the new templates.
Special Collections and Interactive Interfaces
Among the most challenging collections to migrate are our ‘special collections’, which feature bespoke interactive elements and search interfaces. The Oxford Expedition to Egypt database is one of these. Recreating these specialised features is more time-consuming than simply updating the pages where data is available to download. However, it is a worthwhile effort because it creates a more accessible way for users to access and interrogate the dataset, allowing them to browse the scene details database as an interactive resource.
The Updated Oxford Expedition to Egypt Database
The newly released interface for the Oxford Expedition to Egypt Database has been updated to retain its core functionality while adding new features. The original two search options, ‘Themes & Scenes’ and ‘Sites & Cemeteries’, have been recreated. The ‘Dates’ list has been retained, along with the bibliography and original documentation. The site list map has also been retained to preserve the look and feel of the original resource, with the clickable areas of the image being replaced by a list of areas below the map.
A key new addition is an ‘advanced search’ option. This single search allows users to combine fields from the original search options, giving them more flexible ways to query the database. Users can choose to view their results as a list of scenes or a list of tombs. Clicking on a tomb from the results page displays the same information as it did previously, now presented in the new, accessible templates.
These updates are now live and we hope they will help a wider audience to explore and enjoy this resource. The Scene-details Database provides users with a means of examining information about scenes and scene details preserved on the walls of tombs dating to the ‘Old Kingdom’ or ‘Pyramid Age’ of Ancient Egypt (c. 2650 – 2150 BC).
To explore the databases visit:
Linacre College, Oxford (2006) Oxford Expedition to Egypt: Scene-details Database [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1000009
