This article aims to shed light on the conditions under which knowledge in Arabic epigraphy is disseminated, through the exploration of Solange Ory’s unpublished archives. This teacher-researcher contributed to documenting Islamic inscriptions in the Arab world, particularly in Syria, from the 1960s to the 2010s. The Mediterranean field constituted a laboratory for her, due to the richness of its heritage, the accessibility of its sites, and the opportunities it offered for student training. However, some projects to which she dedicated several years of her career did not succeed. Her archives provide two examples. The first, an epigraphic museum in Bosra, was hindered by the conflict that afflicted Syria from 2011 onwards. The second, a program to computerise Arabic epigraphy, failed to take the digital turn in the 2000s. The history of these two projects illustrates the historical, financial, and technical contingencies that impact epigraphic production.