Please feel free to add more questions in the comments section
Do I need to register to use Antiquity À-la-carte application?
Answer: No. You can use all the functionality of the application without registering. Registration is just for using on the wordpress portions of the site (comments, feedback, etc).
What is the Antiquity À-la-carte application?
Answer: The À-la-carte application is a web-based GIS interface and interactive digital atlas for creating custom maps of the ancient world using accurate ancient geographical features. It developed out of an initiative at the Ancient World Mapping center (AWMC) to make digital, customizable versions of our free maps and to offer data produced by the AWMC free of charge to the general public.
What software does the map use?
Answer: The application is written primarily in javascript and PHP, and is built off of MapServer, OpenLayers, and GeoExt, with a PostGIS database backend. Printing is handled through MapFish print servlet.
What time period is reflected in your base layers?
Answer: The application and our layers currently reflect the time period and terrain as presented in the Barrington Atlas. We are currently working on expanding the temporal aspects of our coverage, which we will offer as soon as the process is finished.
Why are you not using Google Earth, Maps, or an equivalent product?
Answer: In keeping with the goals of the AWMC, the application uses extensive customization of geographical features, including water and elevation, which are not available in commercial mapping applications. We do offer the ability to export our map features into a .kml file which is readable by these applications.
Where can I get the GIS data?
Answer: All data is hosted on our main site on this page.
Can I use the maps in my own projects?
Answer: Yes, all data files and maps generated by the application may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Please cite the work appropriately–suggested citation formats are below.
How do I suggest changes or fixes?
Answer: For changes to map features (i.e. location changes, spelling fixes, etc) follow the link in the explore further tab in the feature popup to the Pleiades website. For map functionality, geography, or any other requests / changes feel free to e-mail us. We welcome all feedback and we will do our best to address any issues or suggestions that you may have.
Why do you direct me to Pleiades for feature fixes?
Answer: The data set behind Pleiades is utilized by a growing number of different projects. By suggesting a fix to Pleiades your change (if accepted) will directly benefit a host of programs and initiatives that use this data, including our site.
How do I cite your map / resources?
Answer: For resources in the API a suggested citation is provided.
For Shapefiles, The suggested citation is the following: Ancient World Mapping Center. “Shapefile name”. <http://awmc.unc.edu/wordpress/map-files/> [Accessed: April 23, 2013 11:00am]
For example, the citation for our coastline file should be: Ancient World Mapping Center. “Coastline”. <http://awmc.unc.edu/wordpress/map-files/> [Accessed: April 23, 2013 11:00am].
For maps created with the application we suggest something similar to the following: Ancient World Mapping Center. “À-la-carte”. <http://awmc.unc.edu/awmc/applications/alacarte/> [Accessed: April 23, 2013 11:00am]. You may also wish to save a .json file of any created maps to reproduce your data on demand.
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