Help Us Preserve Ottoman Epigraphic Heritage
Hüvel Bâkî is a community-built project turning tombstone records from academic sources into a systematic digital archive. Whether you're a researcher, epigraphist, historian, graduate student, or volunteer, there is a place for you to contribute.
Ways to Contribute
Contribute as much or as little time as you have, in whichever area fits you.
Ottoman Script Transcription
Read Ottoman script from inscription photographs and transcribe it into transliteration.
Translation
Translate transliterated inscriptions into modern Turkish and English.
Photograph Submission
Share high-resolution tombstone photographs from cemeteries you've visited.
Kinship Research
Resolve familial and social kinship networks between the individuals named on tombstones.
Review & Verification
Review existing entries, confirm their accuracy, or suggest corrections.
Document a Cemetery
Use an Editor account to catalogue an entire cemetery - its tombs, elements, persons, and epitaphs - into the system.
Make a Cemetery Your Thesis Subject
Hüvel Bâkî makes it easy to turn fieldwork into an academic thesis. Registering as an Editor gives you structured, field-by-field forms for cemeteries, tombs, elements (headstones, footstones, sarcophagus lids, and more), persons, epitaphs, and motifs. Your data goes straight into a structured database - no re-organizing field notes later. Advisors can also track a student's progress through the same accounts.
Register as EditorHow It Works
Visitor
Browse and search the archive without an account.
Registered
Create a free account to use bookmarks and personal notes.
Editor
Create and edit records through the built-in forms. Activated once a platform admin approves your account.
Reviewer / Admin
Reviews submitted entries, approves them, and prepares the archive for publication.
Ready to Contribute?
Create an account to get started right away, or reach out to the team first with any questions.