The TALOS Center, in collaboration with the Department of Philology (University of Crete), is pleased to announce that submissions are now open for the 2nd Conference on Semantic Annotation for the Ancient World (SA4AW 2026), to be held in Rethymno, Crete, on 7–8 May 2026.

See more on the Conference Webpage

The conference explores how semantic annotation interacts with hybrid AI approaches, large language models (LLMs), deep learning, ontologies, and knowledge graphs in the study of the ancient world and cultural heritage. Semantic annotation – manual, automatic, or human-in-the-loop – plays a key role in identifying and linking concepts, entities, and relations, turning raw data into structured, interoperable knowledge. In an era where LLMs need grounding in domain expertise, annotation, and knowledge graphs provide transparency, precision, and reusability.
We invite contributions presenting methods, tools, case studies, theoretical reflections, and cross-disciplinary collaborations in line with FAIR and Linked Open Data principles. Conference proceedings will be published in open access, and an edited volume with extended versions of selected papers will follow.

Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):

  • Semantic annotation in the era of LLMs (hybrid workflows, grounding, explainability)
  • Ontology-driven annotation and knowledge modelling
  • Knowledge graphs and Linked Open Data for ancient world studies
  • Human-in-the-loop annotation: methods, strategies, pedagogy
  • Automatic and semi-automatic annotation pipelines
  • Cross-lingual and multilingual annotation (Ancient Greek, Latin, historical languages)
  • Annotation and disambiguation of places, persons, and cultural entities
  • NER and entity linking for ancient languages
  • RDF-based and ontology-aware digital editions
  • Standards, interoperability, FAIR data, and sustainable infrastructures
  • Platforms, tools, and reproducible workflows for annotation and data reuse

Submission details

  • Abstract length: max. 1,000 words (bibliography excluded, free format)
  • Submission platform: EasyChair (double-blind peer review)
  • Talk length: 20 minutes + discussion
  • Working language: English

A longer version of accepted contributions will be invited for an edited volume (deadline for full papers: 1 December 2026, publication planned for July 2027).

Important dates

  • First Call for Abstracts: 21 November 2025
  • Deadline for abstract submission: 1 February 2026
  • Notification of acceptance: 20 February 2026
  • Confirmation of participation: 28 February 2026
  • Camera-ready abstract: 1 April 2026
  • Conference dates: 7–8 May 2026
  • Camera-ready full paper: 1 December 2026
  • Publication of edited volume: July 2027