Many Greek and Latin papyri, originally belonging to only one book (be it in roll or codex form), are currently scattered among different libraries. While it is not possible to physically rejoin these fragments as they cannot be moved from their institutions, they may be virtually reunited thanks to the techniques of digitisation, image processing and electronic publishing. This paper focuses on some issues – emerged from the work of my MA dissertation – that virtual reunification of Greek and Latin papyri presents. Firstly, I propose a workflow for the creation of a digital edition of virtually rejoined fragments, by applying the model of virtual reunification recently suggested by R. Punzalan in Understanding Virtual Reunification (2014), the first systematic study on this topic. Also, as a principal reference point among the existing projects, I follow the Sinaiticus Project website, which, similarly, deals with an ancient Greek manuscript now dispersed in different institutions; however, while the Sinaiticus Project is exclusively dedicated to that artefact, the edition here proposed includes the possibility to be widened, in order to allow researchers to possibly include more reunified papyri in the future. Secondly, I propose some recommendations that can be followed by the owning institutions in order to digitise their fragments according to a common strategy. Finally, I focus on how a virtual reunification of papyrus fragments can be technically achieved – in other words, how the transcription code can present unified information about the papyrus as a whole and mark the parts of text belonging to each fragment. This project will hopefully help researchers study papyri divided among different libraries in a more systematic way, thanks to the availability of an electronic edition including the whole text and images of the virtually reunited fragments, and thanks to a consolidation of metadata.

Many Greek and Latin papyri, originally belonging to only one book (be it in roll or codex form), are currently scattered among different libraries. While it is not possible to physically rejoin these fragments as they cannot be moved from their institutions, they may be virtually reunited thanks to the techniques of digitisation, image processing and electronic publishing. This paper focuses on some issues – emerged from the work of my MA dissertation – that virtual reunification of Greek and Latin papyri presents. Firstly, I propose a workflow for the creation of a digital edition of virtually rejoined fragments, by applying the model of virtual reunification recently suggested by R. Punzalan in Understanding Virtual Reunification (2014), the first systematic study on this topic. Also, as a principal reference point among the existing projects, I follow the Sinaiticus Project website, which, similarly, deals with an ancient Greek manuscript now dispersed in different institutions; however, while the Sinaiticus Project is exclusively dedicated to that artefact, the edition here proposed includes the possibility to be widened, in order to allow researchers to possibly include more reunified papyri in the future. Secondly, I propose some recommendations that can be followed by the owning institutions in order to digitise their fragments according to a common strategy. Finally, I focus on how a virtual reunification of papyrus fragments can be technically achieved – in other words, how the transcription code can present unified information about the papyrus as a whole and mark the parts of text belonging to each fragment. This project will hopefully help researchers study papyri divided among different libraries in a more systematic way, thanks to the availability of an electronic edition including the whole text and images of the virtually reunited fragments, and thanks to a consolidation of metadata.