We're excited to announce the launch of the NotaryPedia Project, in partnership with the University of Malta, the Ministry for the National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government and the Notarial Archives Foundation.

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NotaryPedia Project Launched: Leveraging AI for the Future of Archives

Malta’s rich cultural and legal history, spanning centuries, is stored within the fragile pages of over 20,000 notarial manuscripts housed at the Notarial Registers Archives in Valletta, managed by the Notarial Archives Foundation. These manuscripts, which include wills, property transfers, dowries, marriage contracts, and receipts, provide a rare glimpse into the legal, social, and economic life of Maltese society from the 15th century onward. Yet, the intricate medieval Latin in which they are written, alongside the quirks of scribal handwriting and regional variations, has left much of this treasure trove inaccessible. The NotaryPedia project is set to change that.

The three-year collaboration between the Department of Artificial Intelligence within the Faculty of ICT at the University of Malta, the Ministry for the National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government, and the Notarial Archives Foundation, seeks to revolutionize how we preserve, analyze, and interact with historical records. The project aims to develop the NotaryPedia Knowledge Management Platform, a state-of-the-art tool powered by cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) and knowledge graph technologies. This effort will strengthen the existing collaboration between the University of Malta and the Notarial Archives Foundation, building on the success of a 2018 prototype that garnered international acclaim, earning the prestigious Prize for Innovation from the Council of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE).

In support of this effort, metaphacts GmbH, a leading company in semantic knowledge graph technologies, will provide its platform and tools through a dedicated software license, and contribute its deep expertise to the project. Their involvement will play a key role in the development of the semantic layer, ensuring that the platform’s data models and ontologies meet the highest standards of interoperability, reasoning capability, and user-friendly knowledge exploration. This strategic collaboration will accelerate the integration of AI-driven semantic technologies into NotaryPedia’s core architecture.

The platform’s goal is to make Malta’s notarial manuscripts accessible and navigable to researchers, historians, legal professionals, journalists, technologists, and the general public. NotaryPedia will employ several researchers and PhD students to research and develop AI-powered tools for automatic transcription and knowledge extraction, taking into account the complexity of the manuscripts. Using knowledge graphs, the platform will interlink historical data, uncover hidden relationships, and enrich the archival content with a semantic layer that adheres to international standards for knowledge representation. By addressing the linguistic diversity and the challenges posed by varying scribal practices, NotaryPedia will ensure comprehensive coverage and accuracy in its digitization efforts. This adherence to global standards also guarantees interoperability with other international heritage projects, creating opportunities for cross-border historical research.

Dr. Joan Abela, President of the Notarial Archives Foundation, highlights the importance of this initiative:

“NotaryPedia is a long-awaited project that will not only preserve Malta’s heritage but also make it accessible in ways never before imagined. This is a proud moment for our team, whose expertise in palaeography, digitization, and cataloguing is now at the forefront of a transformative endeavor in digital humanities.”

Dr Charlie Abela from the Department of Artificial Intelligence within the Faculty of ICT will lead the pioneering digital humanities project:

“NotaryPedia exemplifies the nation’s commitment to preserving cultural heritage through technological innovation. By blending AI with multidisciplinary expertise, this initiative not only safeguards history but also transforms it into a living, accessible resource for current and future generations.”

Sebastian Schmidt, CEO, mephacts:

"The NotaryPedia project is an incredibly important initiative that demonstrates the opportunities that semantic technologies and AI can offer in preserving and providing access to significant historical documents. We’re proud to support this project, helping uncover the rich details of Malta’s history and making these records accessible to all."