Transcription rules
In this guide, example text appears within inverted
commas.
-
Transcribe text as you see it.
— including the case used (capital letters or lower case) and
spelling errors.
-
Use square brackets for editorial comments.
E.g.: 'Brown slipped bowl [last word has been crossed out, replaced
with] plate'; 'Tuggle [sic, toggle] pin'. 'Sic' is used to show that
the mistake was in the original text.
-
If the card has an image, add '[object sketch]' or
'[object photo]' at the appropriate place in your transcription.
-
Use '[...]' to show unreadable text. e.g.: 'Carinated bowl with [...] slip'.
This can be done even if only a few letters are illegible, e.g.: 'Car[...]ted bowl'.
-
Explain any problems in the transcription notes field.
There are a few exceptions to the rule of transcribing text as you see it:
- Replace square brackets in the original text with round brackets.
This avoids confusion with editorial comments. E.g.: Toggle [no. 21]
would be transcribed as 'Toggle (no. 21)'.
- Replace " marks with the word 'ditto'.
This distinguishes between a ditto (indicating that the content of the
text is the same as that immediately above it on the card), and the same mark
being used as an inverted comma, or as the shorthand for 'inches'. Follow 'ditto'
with an editorial comment on the copied text (e.g.: 'ditto [bronze arrow-head]',
so the intended meaning is clear.
- Use line breaks to separate different blocks of text.
- Insert punctuation where it is needed to make the text clear.
E.g.: add full stops at the end of sentences, or to separate out tabulated columns of information.
- Write list entries on separate lines.
- But if sentence runs over several lines, write it as continuous text.
Recording later annotations to the cards
Some cards were annotated after the original field information was recorded.
Annotations can take a variety of forms, such as:
- Additions in blue pen. These may record different types of information
- some add commentary to the card (e.g.: 'no photo'), information on disposition
(e.g.: 'discarded'), type (e.g.: 'type 291') or context (e.g.: 'Level I').
- Additions in blue or red pencil. These typically are to add an 'A' or 'B' to the card.
- Ticks, crosses, or lines drawn across the card. These will not be included in the transcript:
you can however make some comment on them in the transcription notes (e.g.: 'the card has a pencil line
drawn obliquely over the whole text').
To transcribe these:
- Frame the annotation to make it clear that it is an addition to the text.
This is done by adding the word '[insert]' before the new text, and '[end insert]' afterwards.
- Indicate the annotation medium.
E.g.: 'blue pencil', 'red pencil', 'pencil', or 'black pen', 'blue pen' etc.
For example: '[insert, blue pen] Level IV [end insert].
Transcription order
- Start with the field number of the object or
vessel. This appears typically at the top right corner
of the card, e.g. ATP/1, AT/37/25.
- Continue from top left corner of the card.
- Insert annotations where they appear in the text
Troubleshooting
Q: What do I do if I have two cards with the same
field number?
Copy the number as it appears, and note the problem in the transcribers notes' field.
Q: I've got a non-standard card format.
Occasionally the card series contains a note or summary
card that has been inserted into the file. Complete the transcription,
and fill out whatever other fields seem relevant.
Q: My card doesn't have all the necessary information.
Fill out whatever fields you can, and leave the rest blank.
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