Measuring the proof chain

The dossier is designed so a checkable sentence can link to a fact, then to a source, an evidence record and finally to preserved bytes. The panel below does not test that whole chain claim by claim. It gives five narrower coverage measures, and each definition matters as much as its total.

The first pair asks whether a fact has a non-empty structured support block. At the snapshot of 10 September 2026, 174 of 385 facts had one and 211 did not. A support block can hold a locator, what the source says and the researcher's inference, but having one does not check what it holds. Lacking one does not make a fact false either. Some older records cite their sources only through a direct source list, so a missing block marks a gap in legacy support that has to be inspected claim by claim.

The second pair counts a source as having preserved evidence bytes when it names at least one evidence record whose registered path exists. By that definition, 641 of 709 sources qualified at this snapshot and 68 did not. The test only looks for a file on disk. It says nothing about whether each copy is source-native, of the highest quality, correctly identified or publishable. A source may also lack bytes for a documented reason, and the panel does not separate those reasons from gaps nobody recorded.

The fifth figure counts annotation companions whose paths exist. The count shifts with the method used to take it and currently runs to about nine hundred, so it is given here only as a round number. Depending on the item, a companion may hold a transcription, a translation, a description and reading notes. That a companion exists does not mean every part applies, or that every reading has had the same level of review.

These tallies will move as the registry changes. They show where structured support, source-linked bytes and companions exist. They do not vouch for the accuracy, sufficiency, rights status or readiness for publication of any single claim; those remain matters for citation and evidence review.