Archaeological Information System Research Articles

Exploring The Role of Archaeological Information Systems in Improving Data Management and Interoperability

Exploring The Role of Archaeological Information Systems in Improving Data Management and Interoperability

Current State of Archiving Archaeological Reports in Bulgaria: still more physical than digital

This article provides an overview of the current state of archaeological archiving in Bulgaria. It briefly outlines the legislation that regulates archaeological fieldwork activities. Although the national legislation regulates the non-destructive and destructive activities equally, differences occur owing to the existence of the 'Archaeological Map of Bulgaria', a national 'sites and monuments' type of archaeological information system. Currently, online storage of brief data and information is possible for different archaeological sites. Its next version will be based on GIS and geographic features that allow storage of raw field survey data. According to the regulations, paper/digital reports of all fieldwork activities are collected yearly and copies of all of them are stored at the 'Scientific Archive' section at the National Archaeological Institute with Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Although their digitisation is still in the early stages, the good news is that the centralised archaeological workflow regulates their storage in one place, which makes them more easily accessible. The annual publication of the 'Archaeological Discoveries and Excavations' series, with summaries for all fieldwork activities in the year, is also very useful for keeping track of the archaeological work and results.

Establishment and Formation of the Archaeological Information System of the Samarkand Region in the Soviet Period and in the Years of Uzbekistan's Independence

The article discusses issues related to the development of archeology in Central Asia and the Samarkand region from the middle of the twentieth century to the present. The author focuses on the methodology for conducting archaeological excavations, qualitative changes during joint international archaeological expeditions. The processes of creation and development of the archaeological information system of Central Asia are also shown. The author argues about the importance of creating an archaeological information system of Central Asia and the Samarkand region.

Taming the Beast. Approaches to Digital Archiving in Czech Archaeology

As in other countries, Czech archaeology has embarked on a journey of digitisation. This creates the need to cope with the rapid growth of digital data, which must be stored securely over the long term and be accessible in a comprehensible and useful way. This causes several problems. Although there is a centralised and well-resourced digital agenda that meets the requirements of the Heritage Law, outdated legislation and the absence of comprehensive rules do nothing to regulate the management of the most valuable data - the primary documentation of fieldwork events. At present, only summary information on archaeological fieldwork and the final reports, which should contain a substantial selection of documentation, are centrally collected and stored. This is a situation that is difficult to accept as primary (raw) data with a greater information value is disappearing into thin air. The premise for change lies in supplying the existing central infrastructure - The Archaeological Information System of the Czech Republic (AIS CR) - with the tools to acquire and archive primary data on a larger scale, while at the same time, amending the legal obligations imposed on archaeological practitioners. Sustainable change requires a significant overhaul of the current concept, objectives and especially the practice of archaeological fieldwork projects, particularly in the planning and post-excavation phases.

Ontology-Mediated Historical Data Modeling: Theoretical and Practical Tools for an Integrated Construction of the Past

Building upon the concepts of constructed past theory, this paper introduces the outcome of ontology-mediated data modeling developed by the authors within the last 15 years. Assuming that the past is something constructed through reflection of former times, one of our major concerns is guaranteeing the traceability of the construction process of an integrated historical discourse built from all available sources of information, regardless of their origin or nature. Therefore, by means of defining key concepts such as ‘unit of topography’ and ‘actor’, we created an information system for data gathering and exploitation and applied it to some experiences of construction of the past. When applied within the archaeological domain, the result is an archaeological information system interoperable with other sources of historical information. Its strength is that it ensures the traceability of the process from the beginning avoiding the introduction and repetition of errors within the system. Along with the main case example developed in this paper, we also summarize some other data modeling examples within the same conceptual framework.

La cronología de la Prehistoria de la Península Ibérica y los Sistemas de Información Geográfica del registro arqueológico

The text presents a collaborative project that combines a C14 database of the Prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula and the Shared Archaeological Information System -SIAC-. It is structured in five sections: genesis, construction, visor, reflection and exploitation and a case study: the analysis of caves with funeral records. The project offers, today, more than 8,400 c14 dates from the Iberian Peninsula (and the Balearic Islands): complex queries are possible, offering the answers in standard formats for use by the researcher. The database is accessed from two web addresses: https://sites.google.com/ehu.eus/c14peninsulaiberica/dataciones-14 and http://arqgeogis.us.es/SIAC/. It is a collaborative project, and any user can propose new dates or make changes. On the other hand, thanks to GIS software, cartographic outputs of the queries are offered. We also inform about the characteristics of the repository and we reflect on its potential.

USING DIGITAL TERRESTRIAL PHOTOGRAMMETRY IN CULTURAL HERITAGE CASE STUDY: THE GREAT WALL OF GORGAN IN IRAN

Abstract. An assessment of the influence of using digital terrestrial photogrammetry for surveying and documentation of cultural objects is presented in this paper. The approaches including digital image enhancement, digital rectification and restitution, feature extraction for the creation of a three-dimension geographical information system model from the photogrammetric record and the computer visualisation of cultural monuments. Manual three-dimension processing of terrestrial images using analogue photogrammetric procedures is slow, can register little information and has limited application and cannot be re-examined if the information desired is not directly presented. In addition, it is a very time-consuming task and requires the skill of qualified personnel. It seems there is a need for an environment-based information system with the ability to display precise and measurable imagery for use of the architectural and archaeological information system by integrating digital photogrammetry and AutoCAD facilities as applicable to support the reconstruction of many cultural heritage places. Architectural structuring and guidelines can be used to develop invaluable historical monuments in Iran such as the Great Wall of Gorgan. While the research is in completion, the output of the Great Wall of Gorgan can be documented and recorded in the world.

Archaeоlogical Map of Bulgaria – Transport and Pipeline Infrastructure Projects

When the European Union began to finance transport and pipeline infrastructure constructions in Bulgaria, large-scale development-led archaeological projects emerged. After 2011, many 'polluter pays' projects were executed with the outlined workflow containing preliminary reports and fieldwork activities in accordance with Bulgarian legislation and a defined price list. As part of the process the national 'sites and monuments' archaeological information system 'Archaeological Map of Bulgaria' (AIS AKB) plays an important part as a source of archaeological data for the territory of Bulgaria. This centralised structure controls the quality of the archaeological fieldwork and data standardisation. The aim is to transform the 'sites and monuments' information system to an archaeological geographic information system (GIS) based on geospatial features, largely using an accumulation of standardised data.

Compilazione in ambiente QGIS delle schede per la gestione degli inquadramenti topografici: il popolamento della banca dati SITAR

The Archaeological Territorial Information System of Rome (SITAR) is a project of public and shared archaeology aimed at gathering all information on its archaeological assets. Data input into the database is operated by simple rules and minimum standards, which everyone working within the Roman archaeological territory should apply in order to normalise data description. QSITAR is a project developed within the QGIS framework. It aims at making the data entry user-friendly and standardized to allow the dataset to comply with SITAR guidelines

GEOMATIC ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECONSTRUCTION AND A HYBRID VIEWER FOR THE ARCHAELOGICAL SITE OF CÁPARRA (SPAIN)

Abstract. Visualization and analysis use to be the final steps in Geomatics. This paper shows the workflow followed to set up a hybrid 3D archaeological viewer. Data acquisition of the site survey was done by means of low-cost close-range photogrammetric methods. With the aim not only to satisfy the general public but also the technicians, a large group of Geomatic products has been obtained (2d plans, 3d models, orthophotos, CAD models coming from vectorization, virtual anastylosis, and cross sections). Finally, all these products have been integrated into a three-dimensional archaeological information system. The hybrid archaeological viewer designed allows a metric and quality approach to the scientific analysis of the ruins, improving, thanks to the implementation of a database, and its potential for queries, the benefits of an ordinary topographic survey.

THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL URBAN INFORMATION SYSTEM OF VERONA: AN APPROACH TO INTEROPERABILITY THROUGH STANDARD-BASED CONCEPTUAL MODELLING

Since 2011 the Archaeological Geographical Information System of Verona, SITAVR, has been implemented based on the existing and well-consolidated Archaeological Information Systemof Rome, SITAR, developed since 2008. The main objective of the two projects is collecting information about the archaeological findings regarding the two Italian urban centres with the aim to support a complete archaeological analysis and allow for easy data reuse. The purpose of this research is twofold: (i) archaeological studies, aimed to collect data and contents, and (ii) information systems applied to cultural heritage, aimed to organize, use and preserve the data on the basis of the innovations related to methodologies, technologies and standards. In this regard, the first step in SITAVR project was to create a domain model of archaeological data, by applying standard methodology for producing an abstract conceptual schema. Next steps were the definition of web services and a common format for data exchange; further in this direction was the creation of a mapping between this model and other international standards. The definition of the conceptual schema and the metadata, the common format for data exchange and the mapping on international standards have supported and encouraged the cooperation between SITAVR and SITAR projects. Moreover also some practical tests of interoperability between the two systems have been performed, thus demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed approach. In particular, an experiment regarding the integrated execution of some queries on the two systems (funerary contexts and the road network of the two towns) was successfully implemented. In conclusion, our work further demonstrates that interoperability requires an initial large investment of resources, but allows to achieve results in terms of data analysis that by means of non-integrated systems cannot be easily accomplished.

MULTIPLE USES OF A 3D POINT CLOUD: THE CASTLE OF FRANCHIMONT (PROVINCE OF LIÈGE, BELGIUM)

Abstract. This paper presents the identified obstacles, needs and selected solutions for the study of the medieval castle of Franchimont, located in the province of Liège (Belgium). After taking into account the requirements from all the disciplines at work as well as the problems that would have to be tackled, the creation of a 3D point cloud was decided. This solution would be able to deal with the characteristics and needs of a research involving building archaeology and related fields. The decision was made in order to manage all of the available data and to provide a common working tool for every involved cultural heritage actor. To achieve this, the elaboration of an Archaeological Information System based on 3D point clouds as a common virtual workspace is being taken into consideration.

ROBOTICS AND VIRTUAL REALITY FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE DIGITIZATION AND FRUITION

Abstract. In this paper we present our novel approach for acquiring and managing digital models of archaeological sites, and the visualization techniques used to showcase them. In particular, we will demonstrate two technologies: our robotic system for digitization of archaeological sites (DigiRo) result of over three years of efforts by a group of cultural heritage experts, computer scientists and roboticists, and our cloud-based archaeological information system (ARIS). Finally we describe the viewers we developed to inspect and navigate the 3D models: a viewer for the web (ROVINA Web Viewer) and an immersive viewer for Virtual Reality (ROVINA VR Viewer).

Digitizing indoor and underground cultural heritage sites with robots

In this paper we describe our novel approach for acquiring and managing digital models of archaeological sites, and how we plan to showcase it during the Digital Heritage Expo 2015. In particular, we will demonstrate three technologies: our robotic system for digitization of archaeological sites (DigiRo), our cloud-based archaeological information system (ARIS), and our immersive virtual reality app for virtually visiting the digitized sites (VR Tours).

VIRTUAL LEODIUM: FROM AN HISTORICAL 3D CITY SCALE MODEL TO AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM

Abstract. Virtual Leodium is an interdisciplinary project aiming to develop an archaeological information system based on a city scale model. The first part of the paper describes current project's achievements; the general methodology and the workflow of the project, namely the production and the modelling of archaeological data; the prototype functions of the ad hoc developed archaeological information system. The second part of the paper presents our new Virtual Leodium archaeological information modelling approach, which aims at consider, in a more comprehensive way, the complexity of archaeological information.

Reconstruct street network from imprecise excavation data using fuzzy Hough transforms

This paper proposes an approach for handling multivariate data in an archaeological Geographical Information System (GIS), providing a new tool to archaeologists and historians. Our method extracts potential objects of known shapes in a geographical database (GDB) devoted to archaeological excavations. In this work, archaeological information is organized according to three components: location, date and a shape parameter, in a context where data are imprecise and lacunar. To manage these aspects, a three-step methodology was developed using fuzzy sets modeling and adapting the fuzzy Hough transform. This methodology is applied in order to define the appropriate tool for a GDB of Roman street remains in Reims, France. The defined queries return an estimation of the possible presence of streets during a fuzzy time interval given by experts on the Roman period in Reims.

An Expect Value for Governing Fuzzy Datum in Environmental GIS

During the exploitation of an archaeological geographical information system, experts need to evaluate the anteriority in pairs of dates which are uncertain and inaccurate, and consequently represented by fuzzy numbers. To build their hypotheses, they need to have an assessment, taking value in [0, 1], of the relation ‘‘lower than’’ between two FNs. We answer the experts’ need of evaluation by constructing an anteriority index based on the Kerre index. Some applications, which constitute a step in the evaluation of the evolution of Reims during the domination of the Roman Empire, illustrate the use of the anteriority index.

Computers in the City: archaeological information systems

Computers in the City: archaeological information systems