Source hierarchy

Question and evidence

A photograph supports a claim about a visible stroke or break. An object record supports identification, material and custody. A diplomatic transcription proposes a reading of the marks. A critical edition may compare witnesses and explain variants. A grammar analyses forms; a dictionary groups uses under headwords; a translation presents one interpretation. Ask what each source actually observed or edited.

The British Museum record establishes the identity and material of Vindolanda tablet 291, while a philological edition is needed for detailed Latin readings. The Codex Sinaiticus project provides images and a transcription and explains how its editors checked transcriptions against images. The layers can corroborate each other, but remain distinct.

Competing editions

When editions disagree, copy the exact readings, line references and editorial signs before deciding. Check whether the difference is a newly observed mark, expansion, word division, normalization or translation. Date and reputation matter, but the local evidence must still be assessed. A lexicon citation may rely on an older reading; trace it back to the passage before building an argument on it.

Record what you did not check. “Following the digital transcription” is an honest claim. “The manuscript reads” implies closer contact with the witness. This distinction prevents a chain of secondary readings from looking like independent observations.

Practice

Use the Codex Sinaiticus edition explanation to list what the image, transcription and project notes each contribute. Choose one claim about a page—layout, a visible letter or an English rendering—and identify which resource could test it.