Archaeological documentation and data sharing: digital surveying and open data approach applied to archaeological fieldworks

Abstract

<p>The open data paradigm is changing the research approach in many fields such as remote sensing and the social sciences. This is supported by governmental decisions and policies that are boosting the open data wave, and in this context archaeology is also affected by this new trend. In many countries, archaeological data are still protected or only limited access is allowed. However, the strong political and economic support for the publication of government data as open data will change the accessibility and disciplinary expertise in the archaeological field too. In order to maximize the impact of data, their technical openness is of primary importance. Indeed, since a spreadsheet is more usable than a PDF of a table, the availability of digital archaeological data, which is structured using standardised approaches, is of primary importance for the real usability of published data. In this context, the main aim of this paper is to present a workflow for archaeological data sharing as open data with a large level of technical usability and interoperability. Primary data is mainly acquired through the use of digital techniques (e.g. digital cameras and terrestrial laser scanning). The processing of this raw data is performed with commercial software for scan registration and image processing, allowing for a simple and semi-automated workflow. Outputs obtained from this step are then processed in modelling and drawing environments to generate digital models, both 2D and 3D. These crude geometrical data are then enriched with further information to generate a Geographic Information System (GIS) which is finally published as open data using Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards to maximise interoperability.</p><p><strong>Highlights:</strong></p><ul><li><p>Open data will change the accessibility and disciplinary expertise in the archaeological field.</p></li><li><p>The main aim of this paper is to present a workflow for archaeological data sharing as open data with a large level of interoperability.</p></li><li><p>Digital acquisition techniques are used to document archaeological excavations and a Geographic Information System (GIS) is generated that is published as open data.</p></li></ul>

Methods and Application of Archeological Cloud Platform for Grand Sites Based on Spatio-Temporal Big Data

“…It is fundamental to direct data acquisition, processing and warehousing in the field of archeological excavation, reducing intermediate links and improving data processing efficiency. Technologies such as digital photogrammetry and laser scanning are used to carry out data acquisition in the fieldwork, but these raw data require a lot of subsequent indoor processing [23][24][25]. Information must be extracted from the raw data according to archeological requirements.…”

“…Great progress has been made in digital archeology and the digital publication of archeological data [19][20][21][22]. Digital photogrammetry is used to carry out survey and mapping of archeological entities in fieldwork [23]. The laser scanning and photogrammetric reconstruction was used to make three-dimensional models of ruins (temples, monuments, etc.…”

“…[28]. Projects of data aggregation and cultural heritage management were implemented, which aims to improve the capacities of conservation and promote data sharing [23,26,29,30]. Standardization is the important task of these projects.…”

Levantamiento arquitectónico y análisis arqueológico del castillo de Píñar como punto de partida para su conservación

“…En la actualidad, todos los datos se recopilan, almacenan, procesan y analizan mediante el uso de herramientas digitales (Previtali & Valente, 2019). De igual manera, las tecnologías digitales facilitan el intercambio y la interoperabilidad entre los agentes intervinientes pero que muchos casos quedan restringidos a su uso particular.…”

Dominant Color Extraction with K-Means for Camera Characterization in Cultural Heritage Documentation

“…In this respect, the integration of geomatics techniques such as photogrammetry, remote sensing or 3D modelling are indispensable at present, and has been a considerable step forward for new cultural heritage applications [3]. Previous examples of such applications include 3D photogrammetric and laser scanning documentation [4][5][6]; automatic change detection techniques [2]; monitoring for deformation control [7]; microgravimetric surveying technique [8] or imaging analysis [9,10] or enhancement methods [11,12] to name just a few.…”