Big-DEA – Big Data and Early Archives

Big Data and Early Archives (Big-DEA). Measuring Settlement Dynamics and Environmental Exploitation in the Ebla Region during the 3rd Millennium BC: Archaeological Record, Cuneiform Texts, and Remote Sensing (Big-DEA) is a PRIN (Progetti di Ricerca di Interesse Nazionale) project (2020-2023) funded by the Universities and Research Ministry.

The project’s objective is the development of a comprehensive multi-level explanatory model for the development of the archaic state in the Northern Levant during the 3rd millennium BC through an integrated analysis of archaeological and epigraphic ‘big data’. Big-DEA seeks to define variables for measuring economic levels, socio-political structures, population and territorial exploitation. The project aims to produce a quantified picture of the structure of the Ebla polity from the time of its emergence until its demise (2700-2000 BC).