Links and Downloads
The following is a preliminary listing of some links and downloads of technical matters for ANE scholars and students.
Placemarks for Google Earth
A preliminary set of placemarks (ANE.kmz) for Google Earth of a selection of the most important archaeological sites in the Ancient Near East can be downloaded here (preferably right-click or ctrl-click).
For the moment, there are some 1300 sites with modern names; among them some 300 have ancient names. Additions of more sites are planned.
Ancient name is written without parenthesis. Modern name is within parenthesis. Most sites have been identified on the satelite photos. However, a few sites are only placed in the possible area, e.g. in a village with the right name when the site may be outside (if so marked with question mark ? after the parenthesis around the modern name). Question mark after ancient name means that identification is not yet proven. Question mark efter modern name (but before parenthesis around the name) means spelling of name uncertain. Two question marks ?? at the end indicate that it may not be a site but could possibly be a natural hill.
New installation: With Google Earth already installed, just double click the ANE.kmz icon. You find all archaeological sites listed in your left panel of Google Earth under Places/My Places. They can be rearranged, deleted or extended later on by yourself. Double click the name of a city in your left panel in order to go to the site.
There are two options after the first session.
1. You never save when leaving Google earth. Then you keep your ANE.kmz and double click the ikon each time you want to use it.
2. The alternative is that you save when leaving Google Earth when beeing asked. Now you keep the placemarks in your left panel. If you use this possibility it is important that you delete the ANE.kmz file because otherwise you will get duplicate names.
1. If you never saved before leaving Google earth you can just throw the old ANE.kmz away and use a new down loaded ANE.kmz.
2. If you saved, you have all cities listed inside Google Earth. Go to your left panel and mark My Places (if you want to get rid of all there) or all the site names from the old ANE list (if you have more to keep in My Places). Delete what you have marked. Now double click the new ANE.kmz icon and save when leaving Google Earth, if you want to keep the new placemarks. If you don't delete the old ones, there will be double names on every site in Google Earth. Delete the ANE.kmz file if you saved the placemarkes inside Google Earth.
Until someone else comes up with a better, more permanent solution, these placemarks may be updated. Any correction or addition with coordinates could be sent to Olof Pedersén. No support is offered.
Fonts
Unicode fonts are a great advantage over all previous fonts, because all signs are placed on the same place in all fonts. Several good Unicode fonts with all or almost all signs with diacritical needed for orientalists are now available for use with all computers purchased during the last years. The same fonts can be used on both Mac and Windows. From the end of 2006 Mac OS and Windows are delivered with almost all signs as standard in several fonts. In addition, there are several free fonts to be downloded, e.g. Charis SIL, Dejavu, Doulos SIL, Gentium, SemiramisUnicode, Titus Cyberbit, Ungkam. In order to use the Unicode fonts, the computers should not be more than a few years old, and the OS and Wordprocessors should not be more than ca. 3 years old.
Unicode fonts with the cuneiform signs from different periods can be downloaded at Hethiter-Portal Mainz. Presently the easiest way to find the cuneiform signs in the fonts is to use Cuneify. Simply write the your transliteration there (ignore the outdated instructions on that page) and copy the result in your document.
Keybord layouts
In order to be able to enter the letters with diacritical signs in Unicode fonts on a regular basis, a keyboard layout should be used; a Character Map should only be used for isolated tasks. Information can be found, e.g. at the Hethiter-Portal Mainz. It is important to install the keybord layout correctly as described there, otherwise it will not work.
For Macintosh OS 10.3, 10.4 and 10.5, the U.S. extended keyboard layouts as well as other extended keyboard layouts are always included in the system, but has to be active. Go to System preferences/International/Input Menu. Mark Character palette, Keyboard Viewer, and the extended keyboard layouts you want to use, e.g. U.S. extended for English, Finnish extended for Finnish and Swedish. Additional keyboard layouts can be dowloaded, e.g. German keyboard layout at Hethiter-Portal Mainz. Persons with special wishes for their keyboard layouts could easily change an existing extended keyboard layout with the free program Ukelele. This program has been used to create a Swedish keyboard layout (right-click or ctrl-click; after downloading the name should be translitt.keyboard) for ANE studies with an optional icon (right-click or ctrl-click; after downloading the name should be Translitt.icns); both to be placed in Macintosh HD/Library/Keyboard Layouts (Restart after placing). No support is offered.