A new web portal on Jewish cemeteries has been launched. Called PEACE — Portal of Epigraphy, Archaeology, Conservation and Education on Jewish Funerary Culture — it has the aim is of fostering study and providing resources on “Jewish funerary culture through the ages.”
PEACE comprises three major partners: Utrecht University, where the project is based, including the FIJI project (Funerary Inscriptions of Jews from Italy); the Steinheim Institute Epidat project; and the Brown University project Inscriptions of Israel/Palestine. There are also contributions from individual scholars.
The portal is currently in what it defines as its pilot stage, with a focus only on epigraphic data — “the inscriptions recorded on stone, plaster, or gold-glass.” The portal has merged the three epigraphic databases (FIJI, Epidat, and Brown’s IIP) of its partners so that they can be searched through one common platform utilizing various filters.
The portal’s aim, however, is to eventually include sections on archaeology, conservation, and education. No time frame for this is currently stated.
Access our Jewish Heritage Europe section on Jewish cemeteries