— What is SARVAH?
A new way to investigate cultural knowledge
SARVAH is an identity-centred intelligence infrastructure. It uses cultural objects as entry points through which relationships between people, places, events, works, documents and narratives can be reconstructed.
— Why identity matters
The identity of an object is never isolated
It is shaped by multiple dimensions, and SARVAH seeks to reconstruct that identity progressively, transparently and in a way that remains open to revision.
Who created it
Who owned it
Where it travelled
How it was described
Which events it was associated with
Which archives or publications mention it
Which contradictions, silences or gaps remain
Not a final answer, but a continuing quest
Each discovery may strengthen one hypothesis, weaken another or reveal an entirely new question. SARVAH is designed to make that process visible, traceable and open to continued exploration.
From objects to wider histories
An object can become the starting point for much more than a description — a forgotten person, a dispersed collection, an undocumented journey, a historical event, a family history, or a missing relationship between institutions and archives.