BAHR
Founded in 1960 at Strasbourg/France, the Bulletin Analytique d’Histoire Romaine (BAHR) was, in the beginning, an annual publication which contained a sequence of bibliographical analyses based upon the systematic perusal of scientific serials. The bibliographical records were classed by subjects covering the period from the foundation of Rome to the age of Justinian. Roman history was taken in the broadest sense of the term and included archaeology, epigraphy, numismatics and other “auxiliary” sciences.
In 1992 a bibliographic database was developped besides the annual publication of the Bulletin, and the detailed abstracts were replaced by a choice of keywords (peoples, names of persons, gods, places and different sources - literature, epigraphy, papyrology…- and thematic keywords). For the bibliographic analysis, the analysis grid used was that of Frantiq, with some modifications, but an absolute chronology with precise dates for the beginning and the end of the period dealt with was preferred. The subjects and the thematic keywords can be found in a classified thesaurus regularly revised and completed.
Scientific articles concerning the Roman world are taken into account by both the database and the periodical, with the exception of Roman law and strictly philological topics which can easily be found in other specialized databases. Since the creation of BAHR, new subjects like spatial archaeology, cultural history, or historical anthropology including gender studies have appeared and the thesaurus was modified accordingly.
Since 1999, the database can be searched for free via the web (http:/www.misha.fr:/antiquite) in the Maison Interuniversitaire des Sciences de l'Homme - Alsace (UMS 2552). The collected data come from about 800 French and foreign serials, most of them analyzed since 1990 by information specialists from the CNRS “Etudes des civilisations de l’Antiquité” research unit ( UMR 7044 ), and by specially trained researchers from the same unit, Master students from the Strasbourg and Mulhouse universities and PhD students from several foreign universities.