The objective of this project is to digitise the collection of
98 manuscripts at Däbrä Särabi (Tigray), the maternal monastery
of the 14th-15th-century dissident Ethiopian monastic group, the
Ewostateans. The collection is of particular historical and art
historical value, but extremely vulnerable to damage and loss
due to totally inadequate storage conditions. The collection
will be secured in situ by removing insects and dust, and by
boxing fragile items. This collection of important and often
rare works will be made available to international scholarship
through the distribution of digitised copies on DVD and over the
internet. Miniatures, marginal decoration and drawings will also
be independently digitised which will be of particular interest
to art historians. Valuable manuscripts which remain in regular
use (during the liturgy and for daily readings) will be
photographically reproduced and given to the church as
replacements for the originals which will be placed in boxes and
held in church storage. Th