When the PEACE project was launched, in 2017, it brought together three epigraphic databases:

1. Utrecht University: Funerary Inscriptions of Jews from Italy. Over 800 Jewish epitaphs, dating to the 2nd – 11th century CE, from Rome and Southern Italy.

2. The Steinheim Institute, Germany: Epidat. Over 46,000  Jewish epitaphs (as of May 2022), dating to the 11th – 20th century, primarily from Germany.

3. Brown University, USA: Inscriptions of Israel/Palestine. About 3,000 inscriptions, dating to the 6th century BCE – 7th century CE, from the area of present-day Israel and Palestine. Most inscriptions are funerary, but they are not restricted to the Jewish community.

The three partner databases have different geographical and, partly, chronological foci, but they all employ EpiDoc. This means that future partner databases may participate by using this standard encoding format.

New partners

In November 2020 a fourth database joined PEACE: the Jewish medieval inscriptions from Toledo, Spain. The directing researcher, Dr. Elíshabá Mata Lopez, is based at the University of Salamanca and the database is currently a part of Epidat.

Starting in May-June 2022 two new databases will join the PEACE portal, both directed by Dr. Sonia Fellous (CNRS/Sorbonne). The first among these is a database of Jewish medieval inscriptions from France, containing 332 epitaphs. The second is a database of ca. 60 Jewish epitaphs from Tunisia, primarily from the cities of Borgel, Nabeul, Sousse and Sfax, dating to the 19th century.

We plan to establish new collaborations in future years, so that the PEACE portal will provide an encompassing picture of Jewish funerary culture.