ItAnt Web Platform

DigItAnt allows scholars to compile computational lexicons compliant with shared models for the semantic web (OntoLex-lemon and its extensions) and to link lexical entries and forms to digital critical editions of epigraphic inscriptions (in TEI-EpiDoc), to bibliographic sources (managed through Zotero), and to other relevant external resources.

The platform enables the connection of internal linguistic resources with external Linked Open Data sources, such as the LiLa project for Latin, creating a semantic and actionable ecosystem aimed at promoting interdisciplinary research.

Through an interactive web interface, DigItAnt allows the consultation and exploration of the lexicons, inscriptions, and connected bibliographic resources produced during the earlier phases of the project.

The data produced and hosted on the platform is also independently accessible via Restful APIs, SPARQL endpoints, and through the CLARIN research infrastructure.

The platform not only facilitates the creation and management of lexical resources linked to texts and bibliographies, but also serves as a test case for the integration of Linked Open Data in the humanities.

The Editor, EpiLexO, is a web application dedicated to the creation and editing of lexical resources for ancient fragmentary languages linked to their 'testimonies' (i.e. transcriptions of epigraphic texts), related bibliography, contextual metadata, and other relevant independent external resources. 

The web services exposed by the servers are invoked by the EpiLexO GUI (developed in Angular ) and the code is open-source.

The front-end is designed as a single-page web application organized into 3 main sections (or columns), composed of different components (or panels). Each component provides a set of various and complex functionalities, for different data and information types, that allow for creating and interlinking a lexical resource with various external datasets. More detailed and in depth information, steps and descriptions of all the functionalities and interface aspects can be found in the official Editor User manual, available online in Zenodo. The manual provides steps, examples, information about roles, users, suggestions on how to use the platforms, how to perform any kind of function, or tips on how to solve recurring problems. Its target audience includes historical linguists, digital humanists and epigraphists whose research is based on linguistics and philology.

The user interface of the ItAnt website is designed to offer an intuitive, dynamic, and accessible experience for users who wish to explore the data and lexical, epigraphic, and bibliographic resources of the languages and cultures of ancient Italy. This interface is intended for researchers, students, and enthusiasts of historical linguistics and epigraphy, with a particular focus on data integration.
The interface is organized through a tabbed navigation bar that allows access to various sections of the site:

• Epigraphic Corpora: An interactive section for exploring the epigraphic inscriptions of the project. The user can view inscriptions encoded in XML-TEI/EpiDoc format, filter data based on criteria such as location, language, or dating, and download the data.
• Multilingual Lexicon: Access to lexical data modeled with OntoLex-Lemon, with the ability to explore lexical entries, forms, and meanings directly linked to the epigraphic texts.
• Bibliography: A bibliographic archive that collects the sources used in the project, with direct links to reference data
• Concordances with the previous editon

The linguistic materials present on the platform can be found by browsing the contents of the different sections or by performing searches (simple or complex) and can be consulted interactively.

The user interface of the ItAnt website is therefore designed to be a complete and user-friendly platform, capable of providing simple and integrated access to complex resources, with a focus on interdisciplinarity and knowledge sharing.