Digitizing Ancient African Narratives Through A Platform Built For Deep Research And Discovery
We collaborated with Princeton University’s PEMM project to create a digital archive of Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Egyptian stories of the Virgin Mary. With 3M+ data points, multilingual support, and advanced search tools, PEMM empowers scholars worldwide to explore centuries of literature.
Introduction
The Princeton Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Egyptian Miracles of Mary (PEMM) project studies medieval stories about the Virgin Mary. The team needed a digital-first platform to host manuscripts, images, and research tools in a way that was accessible to both scholars and the public.
The goals were to:
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Migrate millions of data points from Google Sheets into a structured CMS.
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Build a responsive research website with advanced navigation.
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Integrate mapping and search tools for in-depth study.
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Support multiple languages, including Amharic and English.
The Challenge
Turning 5 years of complex research data into an accessible, global-ready platform.
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Massive data migration: Over 3,314,563 data points from dozens of sheets and fields.
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Multilingual support: Needed for both English and Amharic accessibility.
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Research tooling: Required integration of Mapbox and OpenSearch for exploration.
- Scalability: Handle manuscripts, stories, and images while staying user-friendly.
Our Approach
7Span engineered PEMM as a digital archive with powerful tools for research and exploration.
Directus Implementation
Migrated millions of spreadsheet records into Directus for structured management.
Advanced Search & Mapping
Integrated OpenSearch and Mapbox for fast data discovery and geographical context.
Multilingual Localization
Added support for English and Amharic to broaden accessibility.
Researcher Tools
Enabled CSV downloads, manuscript views, and an Incipit tool for exploring Amharic stories.
Responsive UI/UX
Designed a clean, user-friendly site to make scholarly research accessible.
"At PEMM, we like to say that 7Span made all our dreams come true, even those we didn’t know we had. They migrated millions of data points into Directus and built an accessible website that makes complex data easy to explore. Other companies told us it was impossible. 7Span proved it wasn’t.”
The Impact
PEMM became a landmark digital humanities project, empowering global research into African literature with modern tools and infrastructure.
Metrics:
3.3M+
data points digitized into Directus.
1K+
stories and 2,500+ images available online.
2
Multilingual support for English & Amharic users.
100%
Global recognition as a leading digital humanities archive
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