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Page References

Incoming links Outgoing links
GUIDANCE for Archaeological Archiving
GUIDANCE for Archaeological Archiving

Version management

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1.2. Selection for archive
!1.2. Selection for archive
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1.3. The security of the archive and disaster management planning
!1.3. The security of the archive and disaster management planning
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1.4. Tasks and resources
!1.4. Tasks and resources
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1.5. Identification and involvement of the repository
!1.5. Identification and involvement of the repository
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1.6. Transfer of title and copyright
!1.6. Transfer of title and copyright
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!!2.DATA GATHERING
During this stage of the project, planning is put into effect and archaeological data and materials are collected, either in the field or elsewhere.
!2.1. Ensuring access to the archaeological archive
Project staff and researchers will need to access the archive contents both during and after the lifetime of the project. It is therefore important to document, organise and index the documentary and material (finds) archive in order to keep it comprehendible and accessible (the Standard 4.3). The following practices should be employed throughout the lifecycle of the project, with the resulting documentation also becoming part of the archive.
*It should be easy to find a way through all parts of the archive. The archive should be fully indexed, beginning with an overall catalogue of contents, which leads on to deeper levels of individual indices for other elements such as context records, finds lists and drawings.
*A project summary should be created that will introduce researchers to the aims and objectives, scope, location, content and results of the project. It should include links to any previous work undertaken on the project/site. The summary should be kept updated and complete until the project is finalised and the archive transferred to a repository
*Project documentation should make clear how and why the archaeological records and materials (finds) were created, collected, selected and analysed. This could include information such as recording methodologies or sampling strategies. This is an essential tool for both the data creator and the researcher. It facilitates data management (for best practice advice on digital data management in archaeology see [http://Guides.archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/]) during the lifecycle of a project and also acts as an aid to understanding and interrogating the archive once the project is complete. (Examples of project documentation include: project designs, written schemes of investigation etc and their revisions, recording systems and techniques, selection and sampling strategies, manuals used, classification systems in use such as numbering systems or identifiers and translations of codes or abbreviations)
*The application of metadata is essential for accessing the digital archive. Metadata provides summary information about a digital file or dataset to enable the user easily to access and use the information, or decide whether it will be useful or not.
*In the case of digital data, it is important to follow international metadata standards to ensure that information can be clearly understood and easily re-used by both people and computers. Choosing the metadata standard best suited for the information can sometimes be difficult. A project should work closely with a Trusted Digital Repository when determining how the digital archive must be described and which metadata standards to choose. (Dublin Core Metadata Initiative: [http://dublincore.org/], see especially [http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/] for the basic element set. CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model: [www.cidoc-crm.org], the Inspire Directive: [http://inspire.jrc.ec.europa.eu]).
*Metadata can be applied on three levels:
**__Project__: this should describe the general context, geographical situation and time span of the project and the files that belong to the project.
**__Content__: this level includes all glossaries, vocabularies and variables that have been used when recording data with a concordance of what the terms mean.
**__File__: this should describe the specific content of the file.
!2.2. Validity and comprehensibility of information
It is essential to ensure that all the elements of an archive form a seamless whole facilitating movement between each part of the archive. For example, it must be possible to make connections between context records, finds records and photographs and one should also be able to trace individual finds back to the context, layer, trench and location. It should also be possible to research parallels in the wider archaeological record (the Standard 4.3). This is a duty not only for the project manager but for the project team as a whole:
*The relationships between the project and the wider archaeological record should be clear. References and links to such things as research frameworks, associated publications and reports, and similar or related projects, will make it possible to interrogate the project archive within international, national, regional and local contexts.
*The relationship between the archive and its origin should be clear, whether that origin is a site or a finds assemblage; and it should be possible to link all parts of the project archive back to their exact point of origin. For example, site plans and sections should be geo-referenced; finds should be marked or labelled with both a site identifier and an appropriate context or individual identifier.
*The relationships within the project archive should be clear. All data and images should be able to be referenced back to associated materials or documentation, and vice versa. For example the drawings should be linked to the context record, photographs to the site plans, and object records link accurately back to the correct objects.
*Wherever standardised and accepted terminology controls exist, such as glossaries or thesauri, they should be used and cited in the project metadata. If they do not exist then at the very least it should be ensured that terminologies are consistently used throughout the project record and that the relevant glossaries are included in the archive. Digital information retrieval and manipulation is reliant on searching and filtering within the data. For example if the term ‘posthole’ is used in one place and ‘post-hole’ in others, effective and efficient searching and filtering becomes impossible.
!2.3. The creation of a stable archive
Archiving is a process that aims to preserve information and material for posterity. The physical products of an archaeological project are unique and irreplaceable; therefore the project team should ensure that adequate care is taken of it from the project outset. Procedures and practices should be followed which promote the lifespan of the archive (the Standard 4.3):
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