Sheet reference¶
Where this page fits
This is the column-by-column reference for temPlato, PLATO’s spreadsheet template. If you are new to it, start with Organising data in spreadsheets, which explains the eight sheets and the rules that apply to all of them, and where to download the template.
Spreadsheets are one of several formats that comply with PLATO. The same data can be written as PLATO JSON or as linked data (RDF), and PLATO tools converts between them, and to and from Linked Places Format.
Every column of every sheet: whether it is needed, what to put in it, an example, and the values it accepts. This page is generated from the table definitions, so it always matches them.
In every sheet except places, sources and identities, each row becomes one
PLATO attestation, and these columns are shared: place_id, date, from,
to, source_id, locator, attribution, citation_function,
certainty, certainty_level, denied, stance and notes.
places¶
One row per place, or other spatial entity, that your data is about: a settlement, a region, a river, a road, an administrative unit. Each row becomes a plato:SpatialEntity. Everything else about a place (its names, locations, types) goes in the other sheets, where it can carry a date and a source.
Column |
Needed? |
What to put |
Example |
Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
required |
A short identifier for the place, unique in this sheet. Any text will do (‘bristol’, ‘p1’); the other sheets use it to refer to this row. It is also kept in the data as the place’s identifier, so a record can be traced back to your row. |
|
|
|
required |
The name you want the place to be listed under. This is a display label only: the names the place has in your sources go in the names sheet. |
|
|
|
optional |
Two-letter ISO codes of the modern countries whose territory contains or overlaps the place, separated by ‘;’. A finding aid for search and matching, not evidence. Optional. |
|
several allowed, separated by |
sources¶
One row per source you cite: a document, a map, a book, a dataset. Each row becomes a plato:Source. Every row in the attestation sheets names one of these in its source_id column.
Column |
Needed? |
What to put |
Example |
Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
required |
A short identifier for the source, unique in this sheet (‘domesday’, ‘s1’). |
|
|
|
required |
A short title for the source, as you would refer to it (‘Domesday Book’). |
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optional |
A full bibliographic citation, in any style. Optional. |
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|
optional |
A web address for the source, if it has one. Optional. |
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A web address |
|
required |
When the source itself was made: written, copied, printed or published, as the source or catalogue gives it. Write ‘undated’ if unknown. Required. |
|
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optional |
Earliest year or date the source can have been made, with at least four digits, or YYYY-MM-DD. Optional. |
|
Year of at least four digits, or YYYY-MM-DD |
|
optional |
Latest year or date the source can have been made. Optional. |
|
Year of at least four digits, or YYYY-MM-DD |
|
optional |
If this source is a copy, transcript or edition of another source in this sheet, that source’s source_id. Optional. |
|
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|
optional |
The web address of the licence of the source as you cite it (the edition or copy), for example https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Optional. |
|
A web address |
names¶
One row for each time a source gives a name for a place. Each row becomes a plato:Attestation of one plato:Name, with its date and source.
Column |
Needed? |
What to put |
Example |
Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
required |
The place this row is about: a place_id from the places sheet. |
|
|
|
required |
The name, spelt exactly as the source gives it. |
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|
|
optional |
The language of the name, as a language code (‘en’, ‘la’, ‘enm’ for Middle English). Optional. |
|
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optional |
The writing system, as a four-letter code (‘Latn’, ‘Arab’, ‘Grek’). Optional. |
|
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|
optional |
The name in Latin letters, if the source uses another script. Optional. |
|
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|
optional |
What the name names, if not a place: ‘toponym’ (the default), ‘hydronym’ (a river or lake), ‘odonym’ (a street), ‘ethnonym’, ‘demonym’, ‘chrononym’. Several may be separated by ‘;’. Optional. |
|
several allowed, separated by |
|
optional |
What kind of form this is: ‘Attested’ (read in the source; the default), ‘Headword’ (the form an editor files the entry under), ‘Normalised’ (a spelling made up for searching), ‘Reconstructed’ (inferred, not found), ‘Preferred’ (the form your project prefers for display and search, which the source may not show). Leave empty for an ordinary reading. |
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One of: |
|
optional |
How the name occurs: ‘InPersonalName’ if it appears only inside a person’s name (‘Willelmus de Bonestou’), ‘InFieldName’ if only inside a later minor name. Leave empty for an ordinary mention. |
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One of: |
|
optional |
How many times the name occurs in the passage cited, if more than once. Optional. |
|
A whole number |
|
optional |
How faithfully the name renders what the source shows: ‘Accurate’, ‘Inaccurate’ (misread), or ‘False’ (a ghost form not in the source). Optional. |
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One of: |
|
optional |
Whether the name is whole: ‘Complete’, ‘Reconstructable’ (part lost, but it can be supplied), or ‘NonReconstructable’. Optional. |
|
One of: |
|
required |
The date as your source gives it, in any form: ‘1086’, ‘c. 925’, ‘1480-1485’, ‘a. 1300’. Write ‘undated’ if the source gives no date. Required on every row. |
|
|
|
optional |
Earliest year or date the row can refer to, with at least four digits (0921, not 921; -12000 for 12,000 BCE) or YYYY-MM-DD. Optional; leave empty if you cannot say. |
|
Year of at least four digits, or YYYY-MM-DD |
|
optional |
Latest year or date the row can refer to, in the same form as ‘from’. For a single year, put it in both ‘from’ and ‘to’. Leave empty if the end is unknown. |
|
Year of at least four digits, or YYYY-MM-DD |
|
required |
The source this comes from: a source_id from the sources sheet. |
|
|
|
optional |
Where in the source: a page, folio, column or entry, written as the source numbers it (‘p. 25’, ‘f. 12v’). Optional. |
|
|
|
optional |
‘Inferred’ if the source was given as ‘ibid.’ or ‘idem’ and an editor worked out which source was meant. Leave empty otherwise. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
Why the source is cited, as a term of CiTO, the Citation Typing Ontology: ‘citesAsEvidence’ (the source is the evidence), ‘citesAsDataSource’, ‘citesAsRelated’, ‘citesForInformation’ and so on. Optional; leave empty if your data does not say. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
How sure you are of this row, from 0 (not at all) to 1 (certain). Optional: if your source or your judgement gives certainty in words, use certainty_level instead, rather than inventing a number. |
|
A number from 0 to 1 |
|
optional |
Certainty in words: ‘Certain’, ‘LessCertain’ or ‘Uncertain’, the three levels of Linked Places Format. Optional; may be given with or instead of certainty. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
‘yes’ if the source says this is not so: no market here, a grant refused. The row then records a denial, not an assertion, so give only the one thing the source denies. Leave empty for an ordinary row. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
How firmly the source itself says it: ‘Reported’ if the source passes it on without vouching for it (‘it is said’), ‘Tentative’ if it hedges, ‘Doubted’ if it raises it but will not decide (that is not a denial: use denied for that), or ‘Asserted’. Leave empty where the source simply states it. This is the source’s stance, not how sure you are, which is certainty. |
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One of: |
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optional |
Anything else worth saying about this row, in your own words. Optional. |
locations¶
One row for each location a source gives for a place. Each row becomes a plato:Attestation of one plato:Geometry. Give a point as latitude and longitude; add a shape as WKT if you have one.
Column |
Needed? |
What to put |
Example |
Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
required |
The place this row is about: a place_id from the places sheet. |
|
|
|
required |
Latitude in decimal degrees, WGS 84 (as in most web maps). |
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A number from -90 to 90 |
|
required |
Longitude in decimal degrees, WGS 84. West of Greenwich is negative. |
|
A number from -180 to 180 |
|
optional |
A shape (line or polygon) as Well-Known Text, if you have one. Optional. |
|
Well-Known Text |
|
optional |
What the location marks: ‘Extent’ (the whole place), ‘FeaturePoint’ (a particular feature, such as the church), ‘RepresentativePoint’ (a point standing in for the place), ‘LabelAnchor’, ‘Itinerary’. Optional. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
How far out the location might be, in kilometres. Optional. |
|
A number, at least 0 |
|
required |
The date as your source gives it, in any form: ‘1086’, ‘c. 925’, ‘1480-1485’, ‘a. 1300’. Write ‘undated’ if the source gives no date. Required on every row. |
|
|
|
optional |
Earliest year or date the row can refer to, with at least four digits (0921, not 921; -12000 for 12,000 BCE) or YYYY-MM-DD. Optional; leave empty if you cannot say. |
|
Year of at least four digits, or YYYY-MM-DD |
|
optional |
Latest year or date the row can refer to, in the same form as ‘from’. For a single year, put it in both ‘from’ and ‘to’. Leave empty if the end is unknown. |
|
Year of at least four digits, or YYYY-MM-DD |
|
required |
The source this comes from: a source_id from the sources sheet. |
|
|
|
optional |
Where in the source: a page, folio, column or entry, written as the source numbers it (‘p. 25’, ‘f. 12v’). Optional. |
|
|
|
optional |
‘Inferred’ if the source was given as ‘ibid.’ or ‘idem’ and an editor worked out which source was meant. Leave empty otherwise. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
Why the source is cited, as a term of CiTO, the Citation Typing Ontology: ‘citesAsEvidence’ (the source is the evidence), ‘citesAsDataSource’, ‘citesAsRelated’, ‘citesForInformation’ and so on. Optional; leave empty if your data does not say. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
How sure you are of this row, from 0 (not at all) to 1 (certain). Optional: if your source or your judgement gives certainty in words, use certainty_level instead, rather than inventing a number. |
|
A number from 0 to 1 |
|
optional |
Certainty in words: ‘Certain’, ‘LessCertain’ or ‘Uncertain’, the three levels of Linked Places Format. Optional; may be given with or instead of certainty. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
‘yes’ if the source says this is not so: no market here, a grant refused. The row then records a denial, not an assertion, so give only the one thing the source denies. Leave empty for an ordinary row. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
How firmly the source itself says it: ‘Reported’ if the source passes it on without vouching for it (‘it is said’), ‘Tentative’ if it hedges, ‘Doubted’ if it raises it but will not decide (that is not a denial: use denied for that), or ‘Asserted’. Leave empty where the source simply states it. This is the source’s stance, not how sure you are, which is certainty. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
Anything else worth saying about this row, in your own words. Optional. |
types¶
One row for each time a source says what kind of place something is: a town, a parish, a port. Each row becomes a plato:Attestation of one plato:Type.
Column |
Needed? |
What to put |
Example |
Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
required |
The place this row is about: a place_id from the places sheet. |
|
|
|
required |
The kind of place, in the source’s words or yours (‘port’, ‘hundred’). |
|
|
|
optional |
The matching concept in a published vocabulary such as the Getty AAT, if you know it. Optional. |
|
A web address |
|
required |
The date as your source gives it, in any form: ‘1086’, ‘c. 925’, ‘1480-1485’, ‘a. 1300’. Write ‘undated’ if the source gives no date. Required on every row. |
|
|
|
optional |
Earliest year or date the row can refer to, with at least four digits (0921, not 921; -12000 for 12,000 BCE) or YYYY-MM-DD. Optional; leave empty if you cannot say. |
|
Year of at least four digits, or YYYY-MM-DD |
|
optional |
Latest year or date the row can refer to, in the same form as ‘from’. For a single year, put it in both ‘from’ and ‘to’. Leave empty if the end is unknown. |
|
Year of at least four digits, or YYYY-MM-DD |
|
required |
The source this comes from: a source_id from the sources sheet. |
|
|
|
optional |
Where in the source: a page, folio, column or entry, written as the source numbers it (‘p. 25’, ‘f. 12v’). Optional. |
|
|
|
optional |
‘Inferred’ if the source was given as ‘ibid.’ or ‘idem’ and an editor worked out which source was meant. Leave empty otherwise. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
Why the source is cited, as a term of CiTO, the Citation Typing Ontology: ‘citesAsEvidence’ (the source is the evidence), ‘citesAsDataSource’, ‘citesAsRelated’, ‘citesForInformation’ and so on. Optional; leave empty if your data does not say. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
How sure you are of this row, from 0 (not at all) to 1 (certain). Optional: if your source or your judgement gives certainty in words, use certainty_level instead, rather than inventing a number. |
|
A number from 0 to 1 |
|
optional |
Certainty in words: ‘Certain’, ‘LessCertain’ or ‘Uncertain’, the three levels of Linked Places Format. Optional; may be given with or instead of certainty. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
‘yes’ if the source says this is not so: no market here, a grant refused. The row then records a denial, not an assertion, so give only the one thing the source denies. Leave empty for an ordinary row. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
How firmly the source itself says it: ‘Reported’ if the source passes it on without vouching for it (‘it is said’), ‘Tentative’ if it hedges, ‘Doubted’ if it raises it but will not decide (that is not a denial: use denied for that), or ‘Asserted’. Leave empty where the source simply states it. This is the source’s stance, not how sure you are, which is certainty. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
Anything else worth saying about this row, in your own words. Optional. |
relations¶
One row for each time a source relates one place to another, such as a parish lying in a hundred. Each row becomes a plato:Attestation relating the place in place_id to the place in related_place_id. Both must be in the places sheet.
Column |
Needed? |
What to put |
Example |
Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
required |
The place this row is about: a place_id from the places sheet. |
|
|
|
required |
How the places are related. ‘ContainedIn’: the place in place_id lies within the place in related_place_id. Further relation types are added to PLATO’s vocabulary on request. |
|
One of: |
|
required |
The other place: a place_id from the places sheet. |
|
|
|
required |
The date as your source gives it, in any form: ‘1086’, ‘c. 925’, ‘1480-1485’, ‘a. 1300’. Write ‘undated’ if the source gives no date. Required on every row. |
|
|
|
optional |
Earliest year or date the row can refer to, with at least four digits (0921, not 921; -12000 for 12,000 BCE) or YYYY-MM-DD. Optional; leave empty if you cannot say. |
|
Year of at least four digits, or YYYY-MM-DD |
|
optional |
Latest year or date the row can refer to, in the same form as ‘from’. For a single year, put it in both ‘from’ and ‘to’. Leave empty if the end is unknown. |
|
Year of at least four digits, or YYYY-MM-DD |
|
required |
The source this comes from: a source_id from the sources sheet. |
|
|
|
optional |
Where in the source: a page, folio, column or entry, written as the source numbers it (‘p. 25’, ‘f. 12v’). Optional. |
|
|
|
optional |
‘Inferred’ if the source was given as ‘ibid.’ or ‘idem’ and an editor worked out which source was meant. Leave empty otherwise. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
Why the source is cited, as a term of CiTO, the Citation Typing Ontology: ‘citesAsEvidence’ (the source is the evidence), ‘citesAsDataSource’, ‘citesAsRelated’, ‘citesForInformation’ and so on. Optional; leave empty if your data does not say. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
How sure you are of this row, from 0 (not at all) to 1 (certain). Optional: if your source or your judgement gives certainty in words, use certainty_level instead, rather than inventing a number. |
|
A number from 0 to 1 |
|
optional |
Certainty in words: ‘Certain’, ‘LessCertain’ or ‘Uncertain’, the three levels of Linked Places Format. Optional; may be given with or instead of certainty. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
‘yes’ if the source says this is not so: no market here, a grant refused. The row then records a denial, not an assertion, so give only the one thing the source denies. Leave empty for an ordinary row. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
How firmly the source itself says it: ‘Reported’ if the source passes it on without vouching for it (‘it is said’), ‘Tentative’ if it hedges, ‘Doubted’ if it raises it but will not decide (that is not a denial: use denied for that), or ‘Asserted’. Leave empty where the source simply states it. This is the source’s stance, not how sure you are, which is certainty. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
Anything else worth saying about this row, in your own words. Optional. |
properties¶
One row for each other fact a source states about a place: a population, a valuation, a market day. Each row becomes a plato:Attestation of one plato:PropertyValue. A latitude given without a longitude is a property too, not a location: property_uri http://www.w3.org/2003/01/geo/wgs84_pos#lat, with the value in decimal degrees.
Column |
Needed? |
What to put |
Example |
Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
required |
The place this row is about: a place_id from the places sheet. |
|
|
|
required |
What is being stated, as the web address of a property in a published vocabulary, for example Wikidata’s ‘population’. |
|
A web address |
|
optional |
What is being stated, in words (‘population’). Optional. |
|
|
|
required |
The value, as the source gives it or as a number. |
|
|
|
optional |
The unit, as the web address of a unit in a published vocabulary, if the value has one. Optional. |
A web address |
|
|
required |
The date as your source gives it, in any form: ‘1086’, ‘c. 925’, ‘1480-1485’, ‘a. 1300’. Write ‘undated’ if the source gives no date. Required on every row. |
|
|
|
optional |
Earliest year or date the row can refer to, with at least four digits (0921, not 921; -12000 for 12,000 BCE) or YYYY-MM-DD. Optional; leave empty if you cannot say. |
|
Year of at least four digits, or YYYY-MM-DD |
|
optional |
Latest year or date the row can refer to, in the same form as ‘from’. For a single year, put it in both ‘from’ and ‘to’. Leave empty if the end is unknown. |
|
Year of at least four digits, or YYYY-MM-DD |
|
required |
The source this comes from: a source_id from the sources sheet. |
|
|
|
optional |
Where in the source: a page, folio, column or entry, written as the source numbers it (‘p. 25’, ‘f. 12v’). Optional. |
|
|
|
optional |
‘Inferred’ if the source was given as ‘ibid.’ or ‘idem’ and an editor worked out which source was meant. Leave empty otherwise. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
Why the source is cited, as a term of CiTO, the Citation Typing Ontology: ‘citesAsEvidence’ (the source is the evidence), ‘citesAsDataSource’, ‘citesAsRelated’, ‘citesForInformation’ and so on. Optional; leave empty if your data does not say. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
How sure you are of this row, from 0 (not at all) to 1 (certain). Optional: if your source or your judgement gives certainty in words, use certainty_level instead, rather than inventing a number. |
|
A number from 0 to 1 |
|
optional |
Certainty in words: ‘Certain’, ‘LessCertain’ or ‘Uncertain’, the three levels of Linked Places Format. Optional; may be given with or instead of certainty. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
‘yes’ if the source says this is not so: no market here, a grant refused. The row then records a denial, not an assertion, so give only the one thing the source denies. Leave empty for an ordinary row. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
How firmly the source itself says it: ‘Reported’ if the source passes it on without vouching for it (‘it is said’), ‘Tentative’ if it hedges, ‘Doubted’ if it raises it but will not decide (that is not a denial: use denied for that), or ‘Asserted’. Leave empty where the source simply states it. This is the source’s stance, not how sure you are, which is certainty. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
Anything else worth saying about this row, in your own words. Optional. |
identities¶
One row for each record elsewhere (GeoNames, Wikidata, the World Historical Gazetteer, another dataset) that you believe is the same place as one of yours. Each row becomes a plato:IdentityRelation.
Column |
Needed? |
What to put |
Example |
Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
required |
Your place: a place_id from the places sheet. |
|
|
|
required |
The web address of the other record. |
|
A web address |
|
required |
‘exactMatch’ (certainly the same), ‘closeMatch’ (the same, with some difference of extent or scope), ‘related’ (closely associated), or ‘unspecified’ (your source links the two but does not say how strongly). Required, so that a match of unstated strength is marked as such rather than read as exact. |
|
One of: |
|
optional |
How sure you are that they are the same, from 0 to 1. Optional. |
|
A number from 0 to 1 |
|
optional |
Why you think so, in your own words. Optional. |
|
|
|
optional |
A source that supports the match, from the sources sheet. Optional. |