Mapping History: Seeing Premodern Cartography through GIS and Game Engines (2020-2021)
This project team explored Medieval and modern European maps and city views (c. 1400-1900) to examine how people in the past understood and represented the world around them. Combining literary, art historical and computational methods and using video and image annotation software (Supervisely), team members developed a methodology for analyzing maps and views that allowed team members to explore how mapmakers made arguments about how people should “see” the world around them.
Drawing from team members with a diverse array of skills from art history to geography to computer science, the team launched Sandcastle, a 3D mapping system designed to enable researchers to dive more deeply into the imagery and arguments of maps.
This team’s efforts built off the work of a summer 2020 Data+ project that collected and marked up historical images of the cities of London and Lisbon.
Timing
Fall 2020 – Spring 2021
Team Outputs
Sandcastle. Eric Monson, Philip Stern, Ed Triplett, Joel Herndon, Augustus Wendell, David Zielinski, Brittany Forniotis, Anderson Hagler, Sam Horewood, Rosalind Rothwell, Sam Schmidt, Helen Shears, Brittany Forniotis, Anderson Hagler, Sam Horewood, Rosalind Rothwell, Sam Schmidt, Elizabeth Bond, Molly Borowiak, Samy Boutouis, Austin Connors, Rebecca Eneyni, Jake Heller, Nicole Lindbergh, Abbey List, Isa Lu, Emmalee Mariner, David Mellgard Jr., Mina Mortchev, Emma Rand, Caroline Rettig, Kerry Rork, Ali Rothberg, Julia Shenot, Manmit Singh, Hannah Thurston.
This Team in the News
Senior Spotlight: Reflections from the Class of 2022
Bass Connections Teams Share Research Highlights in 2020-2021 Virtual Showcase
Mapping History in a Pandemic: An Unexpected Journey
A Virtual Stroll through the 2021 Bass Connections Showcase
Building Sandcastles with History
See related Data+ summer project, Computational Approaches to the History of Cartography (2020).

Team Leaders
- Ashton Merck, Arts & Sciences-History
- Eric Monson, Duke Libraries
- Philip Stern, Arts & Sciences-History
- Ed Triplett, Arts & Sciences-Art, Art History, and Visual Studies
/graduate Team Members
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Brittany Forniotis, Art and Art History-AM, Art and Art History-PHD
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Anderson Hagler, History-PHD
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Sam Horewood, History-AM, History-PHD
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Xinyue Qian, Art and Art History-AM
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Rosalind Rothwell, History-PHD
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Sam Schmidt, History-PHD
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Helen Shears, History-PHD
/undergraduate Team Members
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Elizabeth Bond, History (AB)
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Molly Borowiak, Computer Science (BS)
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Samy Boutouis, Electrical & Computer Egr(BSE)
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Austin Connors, History (AB)
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Julia Deitelbaum, Art History (AB)
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Rebecca Eneyni, Economics (BS)
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Jake Heller, Computer Science (BS)
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Abbey List, Computer Science (BS)
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Isa Lu, Economics (BS)
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Emmalee Mariner, Medieval & Renaiss St (AB)
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David Mellgard Jr., Classical Civilization (AB)
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Mina Mortchev
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Emma Rand, Environmental Sciences (BS)
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Caroline Rettig, Art History/Visual Arts (AB)
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Kerry Rork, History (AB)
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Ali Rothberg, English (AB), Computer Science (AB2)
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Julia Shenot, Philosophy (AB)
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Manmit Singh, Computer Science (BS)
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Hannah Thurston, History (AB)
/yfaculty/staff Team Members
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Joel Herndon, Duke Libraries
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Augustus Wendell, Arts & Sciences-Art, Art History, and Visual Studies
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David Zielinski, Arts & Sciences-Art, Art History, and Visual Studies