{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.post-station","code":"thing-q28532565","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q28532565/","name":"post station","alternateNames":["Angarium","Ekiteijo"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.BLT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A station along a road where couriers, officials and travellers could change horses, rest and obtain supplies, forming relay networks such as the Persian angarium described by Herodotus, the Roman cursus publicus, the Mongol yam, the Japanese ekiteijo of ritsuryo law and later shukuba post towns, and European posting inns; post stations enabled state communication and travel before railways and are studied in transport and administrative history.","purpose":"Let an agent explain post stations and relay systems across history with attribution, describe their functions and organisation, identify notable systems, and distinguish post stations from post offices, inns and railway stations.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Relay of horses and riders","State organisation","Regular spacing","Precursor of postal systems"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What a post station was.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition and function.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What was a post station, and how did relay systems work?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about a post station, a post office, an inn or a railway station?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"systems","name":"Systems","description":"Historical systems.","findings":[{"id":"systems-finding","name":"Systems","description":"Systems.","questions":[{"text":"How did the angarium, cursus publicus, yam, ekiteijo and European posting systems differ?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific system?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"operate","name":"Operate","description":"Organisation.","layers":[{"id":"administration","name":"Administration","description":"Administration.","findings":[{"id":"administration-finding","name":"Administration","description":"Administration.","questions":[{"text":"How were stations staffed, supplied and regulated, as historians describe?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"travel","name":"Travel","description":"Travel and communication.","findings":[{"id":"travel-finding","name":"Travel","description":"Travel.","questions":[{"text":"How fast could messages and travellers move through relay networks?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"heritage","name":"Heritage","description":"Surviving stations.","layers":[{"id":"sites","name":"Sites","description":"Sites.","findings":[{"id":"sites-finding","name":"Sites","description":"Sites.","questions":[{"text":"Which post stations and post towns survive, such as on the Nakasendo?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific site?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"archaeology","name":"Archaeology","description":"Archaeology.","findings":[{"id":"archaeology-finding","name":"Archaeology","description":"Archaeology.","questions":[{"text":"How are ancient relay stations identified archaeologically?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Roman roads?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Legacy.","layers":[{"id":"legacy","name":"Legacy","description":"Postal legacy.","findings":[{"id":"legacy-finding","name":"Legacy","description":"Legacy.","questions":[{"text":"How did post stations evolve into postal services and railways?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the history of postal systems?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"culture","name":"Culture","description":"Culture.","findings":[{"id":"culture-finding","name":"Culture","description":"Culture.","questions":[{"text":"How do post stations feature in literature and art, such as Hiroshige prints?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific work?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe historical post-station networks with sources and dates.","Report the condition of surviving post-station buildings and sites."],"mustNot":["Damage, dig or remove material from a protected historical post-station site.","Present legend or reconstruction as documented history.","Disclose locations of unexcavated sites in a way that invites looting."],"requiresHuman":["Any restoration or physical work on a surviving station."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Surviving stations are heritage that cannot be replaced once damaged.","Relay systems were often worked by forced or coerced labour, which history should not hide."],"affectedParties":["Heritage communities","Owners of historic buildings","Researchers"]},"owners":{"steward":"The owner of the surviving building; heritage authorities protect listed sites.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["National heritage registers"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q376799","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q41176","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"transport infrastructure","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"building","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"relay system","type":"related","note":"for communication and travel"},{"target":"post office","type":"related","note":"in postal history"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.post-station","Wikidata: Q28532565 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q28532565)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Persian Royal Road stations: about 111 count - per Herodotus","Tokaido post towns: 53 count - Edo period"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Relay station on a road network","Angarium, cursus publicus, yam, ekiteijo, posting inns","A post office handles mail; an inn is lodging alone; a railway station serves trains","A roadside compound with stables, lodging and offices, or a surviving post town."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain function and organisation","describe historical systems","identify surviving examples","distinguish from related institutions"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Confusing post stations with post offices","Uncertain archaeological identification","Romanticised presentation"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Historical state regulations on relay use","Heritage protection of surviving post towns and stations"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Relaying messages and travellers along roads.","Persian angarium stations","Roman cursus publicus mansiones and mutationes","Mongol yam stations","Chinese and Japanese relay stations including ekiteijo and shukuba","European posting houses and inns","Pony Express stations"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q28532565: post station","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q28532565","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Post house (historical building)","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_house_%28historical_building%29","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should each historical system be a separate entry?","How should historical sources be linked?","The registry entry has merged aliases naming specific systems; should they be split off?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q28532565/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q28532565/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T01:57:21Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:58+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}