--- title: 'Sampo-UI Meets Ontop: Publishing Relational Digital Humanities Data - Semantics 2026' canonical: https://0110.be/posts/Sampo-UI_Meets_Ontop%3A_Publishing_Relational_Digital_Humanities_Data_-_Semantics_2026 markdown_url: https://0110.be/posts/Sampo-UI_Meets_Ontop%3A_Publishing_Relational_Digital_Humanities_Data_-_Semantics_2026.md id: 582 published_at: '2026-09-16T00:00:00Z' updated_at: '2026-09-16T07:46:02Z' author: Joren tags: - name: Code markdown_url: https://0110.be/tags/Code.md - name: GhentCDH markdown_url: https://0110.be/tags/GhentCDH.md - name: Presentation markdown_url: https://0110.be/tags/Presentation.md - name: UGent markdown_url: https://0110.be/tags/UGent.md --- # Sampo-UI Meets Ontop: Publishing Relational Digital Humanities Data - Semantics 2026 The [SEMANTiCS conference](https://2026-eu.semantics.cc/) took place in Ghent from 15 to 17 September 2026. Our contribution was a collaboration between GhentCDH and the Semantic Computing Research Group at Aalto University on publishing humanities data with Sampo-UI and Ontop. > *[Sampo-UI Meets Ontop: Publishing Relational Digital Humanities Data on the Semantic Web](https://0110.be/files/attachments/582/semantics-poster-sampo-ui.pdf)*, Joren Six¹, Jahid Chetti¹, Annastiina Ahola², Frederic Lamsens¹, Heikki Rantala², Eero Hyvönen²
> ¹ Ghent University, Ghent Centre for Digital Humanities ([GhentCDH](https://www.ghentcdh.ugent.be))
> ² Aalto University, Department of Computer Science, Semantic Computing Research Group ([SeCo](https://seco.cs.aalto.fi)) At GhentCDH, we often publish research datasets in the digital humanities. Several projects need similar search filters, map visualizations and data exports. Sampo-UI makes it possible to reuse these components when the data is available as Linked Data. In collaboration with the original Sampo-UI team, we worked on modernizing the framework. Our first contribution separates the shared core from project-specific configuration, making updates and reuse more manageable. The second uses Ontop to expose existing *relational databases* through a SPARQL endpoint. This lets us use Sampo-UI while keeping the database infrastructure and tooling we already have. Having one fewer database system to maintain is welcome. > **Abstract**: *The Sampo model and its Sampo-UI framework have become an established approach for publishing Cultural Heritage and Digital Humanities data on the Semantic Web. Sampo-UI enables exploration of data originating from SPARQL endpoints through faceted search across multiple views with seamlessly integrated visualization and data analytic tools. Here, we present two contributions to the Sampo-UI ecosystem: (i) a separation of Sampo-UI core from application-specific configuration; decoupling core and application simplifies updates and facilitates reuse of efforts, and (ii) the use of Ontop --- a virtual knowledge graph system --- to expose relational databases through a SPARQL endpoint and Sampo-UI. The use of relational databases and reuse of tooling and expertise around relational databases lower the operational burden of publishing small-to-medium-sized datasets typical of digital humanities projects. These contributions originated outside the original Sampo-UI team but were developed in collaboration with it, and are being prepared for upstream integration. We illustrate the approach with two projects at Ghent University: one on Roman coin finds in Belgium (NuMAD) and one on historic Belgian company data (BelHisFirm). Both portals run the same Sampo-UI core with a different configuration, and operate on existing institutional relational database infrastructure without a dedicated graph database.* The demo below shows the NuMAD portal for exploring Roman coin finds in Belgium through the modernized Sampo-UI. Another [demo presents historical records of Belgian companies](https://0110.be/files/attachments/582/belhisfirm_demo.mp4) through the BelHisFirm portal. Both portals run the same Sampo-UI core with different configurations, demonstrating the flexibility of the system. Alongside the [Sampo-UI Meets Ontop paper](https://0110.be/files/attachments/582/sampo-ui_ontop-semantics_2026.pdf), a [conference poster on Sampo-UI](https://0110.be/files/attachments/582/semantics-poster-sampo-ui.pdf) that I prepared is also available. Video: NuMAD — exploring Roman coin finds in Belgium.