When we consider the opportunities opened up by digital approaches in humanities research, the field of classics can be regarded as one of those which has mostly benefited by the introduction of new methods. Within classics, papyrology (the study of Greek and Latin books and documents unearthed in archaeological excavations) has always been particularly concerned with the adoption of digital technologies: the constantly fragmentary state of its texts implies the use of several specific tools to help papyrologists read, restore and identify extremely damaged documents – tools which are best suited to the digital format.
The first comprehensive examination of digital papyrological resources has recently been published by Reggiani (Digital Papyrology, 2017), which greatly helped bridge an important gap in the literature on this topic. Nonetheless, further aspects remain to be investigated towards drawing a complete picture of digital papyrology from multiple angles.
In this paper, I will present the results of an analysis of digital papyrological projects from a standpoint which has not been considered thus far, that is, the place they occupy within the wider context of digital humanities. By following a subdivision in the three main categories of databases, imaging and editing, I will draw a comparison with analogue resources for other humanities disciplines. My analysis will thus show what distinctive features papyrological projects present in such aspects as history, customisation of general resources, diffusion of open source tools, utilisation of advanced imaging techniques, incorporation of digital methods in teaching, and dissemination. The aim is to offer an overall reflection on whether papyrology takes full advantage of digital humanities approaches, what aspects could be improved by observing relevant projects also beyond classics, and what innovations, in turn, the papyrological realm can provide to advance research in different domains.