The Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe (INSPIRE) Directive (2007) requires public organisations across Europe to share environmentally-related spatial datasets to support decision making and management of the environment. Despite the environmental focus of INSPIRE, it offers limited guidance for archaeological datasets. Most primary data is created outside, but ultimately curated within, the public sector. As spatial evidence from fieldwork activities is not considered by the Directive, it overlooks a range of barriers to sharing data, such as project-based fieldwork, a lack of data standards, and formatting and licencing variations. This paper submits that these challenges are best addressed through the formalised management of primary research data through an archaeological Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI). SDIs deliver more efficient data management and release economic value by saving time and money. Better stewardship of archaeological data will also lead to more informed research and stewardship of the historic environment. ARIADNE already provides a digital infrastructure for research data, but the landscape and spatial component has been largely overlooked. However, rather than developing a separate solution, the full potential of spatial data from archaeological research can and should be realised through ARIADNE.
ABSTRACT:Over the past 20 years, heritage inventories in Flanders (Belgium) have evolved from printed books to digital inventories. It is obvious that a system that publishes a digital inventory needs to adapt to the user requirements. But, after years of working with a digital inventory system, it has become apparent that not only has the system been developed to the users needs, but also that user practice and the resulting data have been shaped by the system. Thinking about domain models and thesauri influenced our thinking about our methodology of surveying. Seeing our data projected on a common basemap led us to realise how intertwined and interdependent different types of heritage can be. The need for structured metadata has impressed upon us the need for good quality data, guaranteed by data entry standards, validation tools, and a strict editing workflow. Just as the researchers have transitioned from seeing their respective inventories as being significantly different to actually seeing the similarities between them, the information specialists have come to the realisation that there are synergies that can be achieved with other systems, both within and outside of our organisation. Deploying our inventories on the web has also changed how we communicate with the general public. Newer channels such as email and social media have enabled a more interactive way of communicating. But throughout the years, one constant has remained. While we do not expect the systems to live on, we do want the data in them to be available to future generations."To improve is to change, so to be perfect is to have changed often".1 In Flanders (Belgium), heritage inventories have a long history. Over time, the way these inventories have been constructed has changed significantly. Once purely an analogue affair, nowadays computer systems and databases are omnipresent. Constructing a heritage inventory without a database has become unfathomable. It is obvious that a digital system to record and present heritage data needs to fit the users' requirements. But what might be less clear is that not only do the users form the system, but the system also forms the users. This paper will examine how the Flanders Heritage inventory system was shaped by the data, and how the data, and the way they were collected, was influenced by the system.
Heritage organizations in Flanders started using thesauri fairly recently compared to other countries. This paper starts with examining the historical use of thesauri and controlled vocabularies in computer systems by the Flemish Government dealing with immovable cultural heritage. Their evolution from simple, flat, controlled lists to actual thesauri with scope notes, hierarchical and equivalence relations and links to other thesauri will be discussed. An explanation will be provided for the evolution in our approach to controlled vocabularies, and how they radically changed querying and the way data is indexed in our systems.<br><br> Technical challenges inherent to complex thesauri and how to overcome them will be outlined. These issues being solved, thesauri have become an essential feature of the Flanders Heritage inventory management system. The number of vocabularies rose over the years and became an essential tool for integrating heritage from different disciplines.<br><br> As a final improvement, thesauri went from being a core part of one application (the inventory management system) to forming an essential part of a new general resource oriented system architecture for Flanders Heritage influenced by Linked Data. For this purpose, a generic SKOS based editor was created. Due to the SKOS model being generic enough to be used outside of Flanders Heritage, the decision was made early on to develop this editor as an open source project called Atramhasis and share it with the larger heritage world.
Purpose – Over the past 20 years, heritage inventories in Flanders (Belgium) have evolved from printed books to digital inventories. The purpose of this paper is to look at this evolution and highlight the interaction between the system and its users. Design/methodology/approach – After a short introduction about the history of inventories in Flanders, this paper mainly concerns itself with the last decade. Discrete topics will be highlighted to show the effects of the interaction that has taken place. Findings – It is obvious that a system that publishes a digital inventory needs to adapt to the user requirements. But, after years of working with a digital inventory system, it has become apparent that not only has the system been developed to the users’ needs, but also that user practice and the resulting data have been shaped by the system. Seeing data projected on a common basemap has led researchers to realise how intertwined and interdependent different types of heritage can be and how much their respective methodologies can benefit from more interaction. It has become apparent that data quality is of the utmost importance, something that can only be guaranteed by data entry standards, validation tools, and a strict editing workflow. The systems that are being developed are not expected to live on forever, but the data in them is. Originality/value – This paper presents real-life use cases and practical applications of building and maintaining a large digital inventory system over the years and through changes in organisational structure and focus. It provides insights that are hard to ascertain from smaller projects due to the volumes of data that are handled.
This article provides an overview of the current state of archaeological digital archiving in Flanders (Belgium). It briefly outlines the legally defined stakeholders and actors through which archaeological fieldwork is regulated and carried out. It subsequently describes related digital documentation and archiving practices, and guidelines. This is followed by a discussion on compliance with the FAIR Guiding Principles, and the article concludes with notes on the past and future of archaeological digital archiving in Flanders.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.