Abstract
The paper proposes an information technology framework for the development of an embedded remote system for non-destructive observation and study of sensitive archaeological sites. The overall concept and motivation are described. The general hardware layout and software configuration are presented. The paper concentrates on the implementation of the following informational technology components: (a) a geographically unique identification scheme supporting a global key space for a key-value store; (b) a common method for octree modeling for spatial geometrical models of the archaeological artifacts, and abstract object representation in the global key space; (c) a broadcast of the archaeological information as an Extensible Markup Language (XML) stream over the Web for worldwide availability; and (d) a set of testing methods increasing the fault tolerance of the system. This framework can serve as a foundation for the development of a complete system for remote archaeological exploration of enclosed archaeological sites like buried churches, tombs, and caves. An archaeological site is opened once upon discovery, the embedded computer system is installed inside upon a robotic platform, equipped with sensors, cameras, and actuators, and the intact site is sealed again. Archaeological research is conducted on a multimedia data stream which is sent remotely from the system and conforms to necessary standards for digital archaeology.
Highlights
Classical archaeology has two deleterious characteristics [1]
In the rest of the sections we concentrate on the specific design decisions we have made to address four foundational elements of non-destructive archaeology: (1) data identification for worldwide distribution; (2) data repository structure; (3) mapping of global and local data structures for distributed analysis; and (4) robust self-testing strategy for increased fault tolerance of the physically inaccessible embedded system
While this paper focusses on our contributions to the design and implementation of key software components of the system for non-destructive archaeology, we present here an overview of the full system configuration, hardware and software, to provide clear context for the following sections
Summary
Classical archaeology has two deleterious characteristics [1]. First, it is destructive. Some examples are hidden cave churches and pyramids in the Middle East, unopened Thracian tombs in the Balkans, and various sites buried under the sands in North Africa In many cases, these sites have been preserved for hundreds or thousands of years and present an increasingly rare opportunity for long-term non-destructive study of the sites and the artifacts inside them. We have designed several key components of an embedded computer system that can be used for non-destructive archaeology It publishes the live and archived archeological data on the Web for open cooperative research. In the rest of the sections we concentrate on the specific design decisions we have made to address four foundational elements of non-destructive archaeology: (1) data identification for worldwide distribution; (2) data repository structure; (3) mapping of global and local data structures for distributed analysis; and (4) robust self-testing strategy for increased fault tolerance of the physically inaccessible embedded system. The archaeologists merge collected data and their interpretations using the proposed XML vocabulary
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