TRANSLATING AN ANCIENT MANICHEAN PAPYRUS MANUSCRIPT An ARC Discovery Projects grant has supported the translation of a key text containing narrative, dialogue and traditional stories of the Manichean religion’s oral traditions, which had been lost since antiquity. The research team, led by Professor Iain Gardner, from the Department of Studies in Religion at The University of Sydney and Professor Jason BeDuhn, an expert in comparative religions now at Northern Arizona University, has been engaged in over 10 years of detailed restoration, analysis and translation of the precious papyrus—known as the ‘Dublin Kephalaia’. The reconstruction of the text, which is held in the Chester Beatty library in Dublin, was particularly difficult and painstaking work, as it had been damaged by moisture and blackened by age to be almost unreadable. By looking at each papyrus leaf from different angles using ultraviolet light and computer enhanced photographic techniques, the researchers were able to slowly reveal its secrets, which included insights into society, government, religious pluralism, and cultural traditions in 3rd century Iran. The full text-edition with English translation and critical apparatus is now being prepared for publication in four volumes. The text shines a new light on a vibrant society that existed at an ancient crossroads of Eastern and Western religious and philosophical thought. (Above): Chester Beatty Kephalaia Codex plate 240 (image enhanced). Credit: Daniel Boone and Ryan Belnap (Northern Arizona University IDEALab). (Below): Autopsy of the Papyrus at the Chester Beatty Library (I. Gardner and J. BeDuhn). Credit: The Chester Beatty Library, Dublin.
The over 600,000 case records uploaded on the website are an important part of Australian history and form the story of criminal justice in Australia. The database allows comparative research studies, providing insight into the differences between state jurisdictions and the possibility of examining the histories of each type of criminal offence.
THE PROSECUTION PROJECT The Prosecution Project is an initiative of Professor Mark Finnane’s ARC Australian Laureate Fellowship at Griffith University. The project has produced a rich understanding of how crime has been prosecuted in Australia, providing access to new data for use by both researchers and the general community. Using the archival records from Australian states, Professor Finnane and his research team have created a public online resource prosecutionproject.griffith.edu.au, digitising court records from seven jurisdictions as far back as the 1820s. The search available on this website reveals a fascinating insight into the types of crimes historically prosecuted—for example, on 4 April 1855, George Thomas was found to be guilty of the crime of being
‘disobedient at sea’ in the NSW Supreme Court, while in 1865, Edward J White was sentenced to 2 years in Parramatta Gaol for ‘personating a voter’. The website also publishes story excerpts from the National Library of Australia’s Trove resource, pulling text from newspaper articles about criminal trials which took place ‘on this week’. By clicking on the link to Trove, users can read the original newsprint version of the article, providing detail of the crime, witnesses, trial proceedings and judicial sentencing. By placing little-known cases in historical context, this project has been able to build an understanding of the criminal justice system through the ages and provide new, interesting insights into the needs of contemporary society.
STRIVING FOR CULTURAL AND SOCIAL OUTCOMES 58
STRIVING FOR CULTURAL AND SOCIAL OUTCOMES 59
Professor Mark Finnane working with data from the Prosecution Project. Credit: Griffith University.
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