Byzantium on the Web… And a Way to Find it: The Chalke Gate Project

The aim of our paper is to present the Chalke Gate project of the Commission for the History of Byzantine Art of the International Association of Byzantine Studies (CHAB/AIEB). The fundamental goal of the CHAB/AIEB is the co-ordination of efforts for the promotion of the study of Byzantine Art and the dissemination of knowledge not only among Byzantinists but also to the wider community of mediaeval art historians. As a first step towards achieving this goal, the commission has decided to create an open-access web portal where electronic material on Byzantine art and material culture would be gathered, organized, and made easily accessible. The portal, called ΧΑΛΚΗ ΠΥΛΗ / CHALKE GATE: A Portal to Byzantine Art and Material Culture, was organized by the Greek members of the Commission and funded by the Christian Archaeological Society in Athens, one of the world’s oldest scientific societies for the study of Byzantine Archaeology and Art. It is well known that an abundance of information on Byzantine art and material culture is now available on the Internet. These sources can be useful resources for the study and teaching of these subjects. They can also be used as a means of keeping researchers and academics up to date and allowing them to communicate and collaborate with each other in the relevant fields. However, it is essential that this digital information is easily accessible, well organized, and scientifically reliable. These were the primary aims of the Chalke-Gate project and in my presentation, we will try to show how we have addressed these issues in creating the portal.