This presentation by Achille Felicetti of PIN (Università degli Studi di Firenze, Prato) on the work by the ARIADNE infrastructure to integrating archaeological data was given as part of a workshop organised by Digital Humanities Austria. The workshop focussed on the pressing question of long-term preservation of digital data from various angles, central being user needs specific to the different fields of the Humanities. Felicetti introduced the ARIADNE research infrastructure, which has been funded by the EC's FP7 programme, to integrate archaeological research datasets from across Europe and support their uses by researchers.

1. ARIADNE is funded by the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme
Integrating archaeological data
The ARIADNE infrastructure
Integrating archaeological data
The ARIADNE infrastructure
Save the data - Workshop on digital repositories
Vienna, December 2nd
2014
Achille Felicetti
PIN, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Prato
Save the data - Workshop on digital repositories
Vienna, December 2nd
2014
Achille Felicetti
PIN, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Prato

2. What is ARIADNE
• ARIADNE is a Research Infrastructure aiming at the
integration of archaeological datasets in Europe (and
beyond)
• Four years’ duration
• Starting 1st
February 2012
• 24 partners
• Coordinated by PIN-U. of Florence (IT)
• ARIADNE is a Research Infrastructure aiming at the
integration of archaeological datasets in Europe (and
beyond)
• Four years’ duration
• Starting 1st
February 2012
• 24 partners
• Coordinated by PIN-U. of Florence (IT)

3. The ARIADNE partnership
• Coordinator
• Partner
• Associate

4. Why ARIADNE
• Huge number of archaeological data available in
digital format
• Large number of non-communicating
archaeological datasets
• Increasing interest of the research community for
data sharing
• Social pressure for opening data vaults
• Huge number of archaeological data available in
digital format
• Large number of non-communicating
archaeological datasets
• Increasing interest of the research community for
data sharing
• Social pressure for opening data vaults

5. Project activities
• Networking activities
– Community building: involving additional institutions
sharing data and establishing together guidelins
– Standardization and good practices
• Trans-National Access to shared datasets and training
in their creation, as well as to on-line repositories
– Support for digitization and data organization
• Research activities
– Knowledge organization
– Data management
– New or improved tools to extract information
– Advances in methodology
• Networking activities
– Community building: involving additional institutions
sharing data and establishing together guidelins
– Standardization and good practices
• Trans-National Access to shared datasets and training
in their creation, as well as to on-line repositories
– Support for digitization and data organization
• Research activities
– Knowledge organization
– Data management
– New or improved tools to extract information
– Advances in methodology

6. Archaeology and the heterogeneity …

7. Digital documentation
• Museums information
• Excavations records
• Images
• 3D models
• RDBMS
• GIS
• XML
• CSV
• Excel
• Unstructured files
XML

8. Textual documentation

9. Terminological tools
ICCD thesaurus for archaeological finds
For movable archaeological items

10. How to achieve integration
Data sharing requires
•Suitability of somebody else’s data for one’s
purposes
•Interoperability of datasets
•Trusting in data collected by others
•Guarantee of data “provenance”
•Common understanding on meanings
Data sharing requires
•Suitability of somebody else’s data for one’s
purposes
•Interoperability of datasets
•Trusting in data collected by others
•Guarantee of data “provenance”
•Common understanding on meanings

11. First step: the ARIADNE Registry
• Complete catalogue of archaeological datasets owned by
partners
– Used to identify common information on which to build data
integration
• ACDM – Ariadne Catalogue Data Model
– Based onW3C DCAT model (
http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-dcat/),
– Formal description of archaeological datasets
• Detailed descriptions of information managed by partners
– Data format
– Number of stored records
– Metadata schemas used
– Standards and vocabularies used (if any)
• Complete catalogue of archaeological datasets owned by
partners
– Used to identify common information on which to build data
integration
• ACDM – Ariadne Catalogue Data Model
– Based onW3C DCAT model (
http://www.w3.org/TR/vocab-dcat/),
– Formal description of archaeological datasets
• Detailed descriptions of information managed by partners
– Data format
– Number of stored records
– Metadata schemas used
– Standards and vocabularies used (if any)

12. Data integration: capture the semantic meaning
ID Item Room Showcase
35 Amphora 3 2
24 Coin 8 15
18 ... ... ...
ID Artifact SU
1020 Coin 12
1021 ... ...
1022 Amphora 13
Museum DB:
Items Table
Excavation DB:
Artifacts Table
Different archives
Different data structures
Is integration possible?

13. Capture the semantic meaning ...
ID Item Room Showcase
35 Amphora 3 2
24 Coin 8 15
18 ... ... ...
ID Artifact SU
1020 Coin 12
1021 ... ...
1022 Amphora 13
Museum DB:
Items Table
Excavation DB:
Artifacts Table
ObjectObjectObjectObject PlacePlacePlacePlace

14. Implicit knowledge: semantic relations
ID Item Room Showcase
35 Amphora 3 2
24 Coin 8 15
18 ... ... ...
ID Artifact SU
1020 Coin 12
1021 ... ...
1022 Amphora 13
Museum DB:
Items Table
Excavation DB:
Artifacts Table
ObjectObjectObjectObject
PlacePlacePlacePlace
ObjectObjectObjectObject
PlacePlacePlacePlace
Found InFound In Stored InStored In

15. Temporal entities
ID Artifact SU Data Period
1020 Coin 12 1981 V B.C.
1021 ... ...
1022 Amphora 13 1974 III B.C.
TimeTimeObjectObjectObjectObject
CreatedCreated
FoundFound

16. Mapping and RDF Encoding ...
<crm:E22.Man-Made_Object rdf:about=”35">
<crm:P2.has_type>
<crm:E55.Type rdf:about=”Amphora"/>
</crm:P2.has_type>
</crm:E22.Man-Made_Object>
<crm:E22.Man-Made_Object rdf:about=”35">
<crm:P55.has_current_location>
<crm:E53.Place rdf:about=”2"/>
<crm:P2.has_type>
<crm:E55.Type rdf:about=”Showcase"/>
</crm:P2.has_type>
</crm:P55.has_current_location>
</crm:E22.Man-Made_Object> ID Item Room Showcase
35 Amphora 3 2
24 Coin 8 15
18 ... ... ...
ObjectObjectObjectObject PlacePlacePlacePlace

17. Representing knowledge ...

18. SYNERGY Mapping Reference Model
• Designed by CIDOC CRM SIG
• Modular structure
– Different tools communicating between them
– Individual tasks so as to divide the mapping problem in different subparts
• Schema visualizers
• Mapping interfaces
• Source analyzers and normalizer
• Mapping suggester
• Mapping memories storage
– mapping histories of analogous cases collected from user community
• Terminology mapper
– to define equivalences between terms from different vocabularies
• Designed by CIDOC CRM SIG
• Modular structure
– Different tools communicating between them
– Individual tasks so as to divide the mapping problem in different subparts
• Schema visualizers
• Mapping interfaces
• Source analyzers and normalizer
• Mapping suggester
• Mapping memories storage
– mapping histories of analogous cases collected from user community
• Terminology mapper
– to define equivalences between terms from different vocabularies

19. FORTH - 3M
• FORTH Data Model and Standards:
– http://www.ics.forth.gr/isl/index_main.php?l=e&c=229
• FORTH Mapping Memory Manager
– http://www.ics.forth.gr/isl/3M
• ICCD (Italian Central Institute for Cataloguing and
Documentation ) models for archaeological
documentation
– Monuments & sites
– Artifacts
• OEAW coins database
• FORTH Data Model and Standards:
– http://www.ics.forth.gr/isl/index_main.php?l=e&c=229
• FORTH Mapping Memory Manager
– http://www.ics.forth.gr/isl/3M
• ICCD (Italian Central Institute for Cataloguing and
Documentation ) models for archaeological
documentation
– Monuments & sites
– Artifacts
• OEAW coins database

20. OEAW coins database

21. OEAW coins database mapping

22. Knowledge extraction from texts
... he made a palace extending all the way from the Palatine to the Esquiline,
which at first he called the House of Passage, but when it was burned shortly
after its completion and rebuilt, the Golden House
... domum a Palatio Esquilias usque fecit, quam primo Transitoriam, mox
incendio absumptam restitutamque Auream nominavit
(Suetonius, Nero 31, 1)
Places:
Palatine
Esquiline
Actors:
Nero
Appellations:
House of Passage
Golden House
Events:
Palace burning
Objects:
The palace
Activities:
Palace extension
Palace rebuilding
Name assignements
Date:
64 d.C.
Classes

23. Knowledge Extraction: annotation tools
Refers to
Refers to
CarriesCarries

24. From text to RDF
<cidoc:E39_Actor rdf:about="Nero">
<cidoc:P14_performed rdf:resource="GH_Name_assignment"/>
<cidoc:P14_performed rdf:resource="HP_Name_assignment"/>
<cidoc:P14_performed rdf:resource="Palace_extension"/>
<cidoc:P14_performed rdf:resource="Palace_rebuilding"/>
</cidoc:E39_Actor>
<cidoc:E79_Part_Addition rdf:about="Palace_extension">
<cidoc:P7_took_place_at rdf:resource="Esquiline"/>
<cidoc:P110_augmented rdf:resource="The_Palace"/>
<cidoc:P31_has_modified rdf:resource="The_Palace"/>
</cidoc:E79_Part_Addition>
<cidoc:E11_Modification rdf:about="Palace_rebuilding">
<cidoc:P7_took_place_at rdf:resource="Esquiline"/>
<cidoc:P7_took_place_at rdf:resource="Palatine"/>
<cidoc:P31_has_modified rdf:resource="The_Palace"/>
</cidoc:E11_Modification>

25. ARIADNE is funded by the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Metatada
Repository
Metatada
Repository
CIDOC CRM
Content
Providers
Integration &
Interoperability
XML OAI-PMH RDF
Integration LayerIntegration Layer
– Common semantic representation (mapping)
– Data transparency
– Data peculiarity preserved by the system
– Common semantic representation (mapping)
– Data transparency
– Data peculiarity preserved by the system

26. Preserving legacy archives
• Legacy database synchronization
– ARIADNE system constantly updated according to
modifications of legacy archives
• References to legacy archives always provided
– Data provenance
– URLs to information on original portals/web applications
• User to navigate original information
– To perform custom searches tailored on specific needs
• Legacy database synchronization
– ARIADNE system constantly updated according to
modifications of legacy archives
• References to legacy archives always provided
– Data provenance
– URLs to information on original portals/web applications
• User to navigate original information
– To perform custom searches tailored on specific needs

27. System architecture
• Triple store
– scalable and able to handle a large number of RDF triples
(i.e. the entire ARIADNE semantic graph) efficiently;
• Communication modules
– legacy archives
– on-the-fly and on-demand population of the ARIADNE
platform
• Internal consistency control modules
• Terminological services
• Query management system
• Semantic enrichment and exporting features
• Triple store
– scalable and able to handle a large number of RDF triples
(i.e. the entire ARIADNE semantic graph) efficiently;
• Communication modules
– legacy archives
– on-the-fly and on-demand population of the ARIADNE
platform
• Internal consistency control modules
• Terminological services
• Query management system
• Semantic enrichment and exporting features

28. Triple stores and semantic data
Virtuoso
http://virtuoso.openlinksw.com/
3D-COFORM Repository
http://www.3d-coform.eu

29. Synchronisation Services
D2R Server
Publishing relational databases on the Semantic Web
http://d2rq.org/d2r-server

30. Accessing the architecture
• ARIADNE Portal
– Unique access point to the whole system
– Configuration and management module for users
administration and data workflow control;
– Interfaces for interacting with the query management
layers
• ARIADNE Services
– Data access and management
– Resource discovery
– Data import/export
– Data Visualization and annotation
• ARIADNE Portal
– Unique access point to the whole system
– Configuration and management module for users
administration and data workflow control;
– Interfaces for interacting with the query management
layers
• ARIADNE Services
– Data access and management
– Resource discovery
– Data import/export
– Data Visualization and annotation

31. Query on map and timeline

32. ARIADNE is funded by the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme
Repository and ServicesRepository and Services
ArchitectureArchitecture
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Metadata
Repository
Metadata
Repository RegistryRegistry
ACDMCIDOC CRM
Content
Providers
Integration &
Interoperability
Integrated
Services
Configuration &
Management
Configuration &
Management
ARIADNE
Portal
Browse/Query
Interfaces
Browse/Query
Interfaces
VocabulariesVocabularies
Deposit
Services
OAI-PMHXML
Metadata
Enhancement
Metadata
Enhancement
Data
+
Metadata
Data
+
Metadata
Data
+
Metadata
Data
+
Metadata
Data
+
Metadata
Data
+
Metadata
Data
+
Metadata
Data
+
Metadata
Resource
Discovery
Resource
DiscoveryPreviewPreview PreservationPreservation
Data Access
(SPARQL, REST)
Data Access
(SPARQL, REST)
Archive
Discovery
Archive
Discovery
Digital
Asset
Management
Digital
Asset
Management
Dataset
Discovery
Dataset
Discovery
Vocabularies
Management
Vocabularies
Management WEB
LOD
Mapping
Services

33. Final considerations
• Very advanced stage of development
– End of the project
• ARIADNE main goal
– “Integration of existing archaeological research data
infrastructure through new and powerful
technologies” (ARIADNE DoW)
• “From differences results the most beautiful
harmony”(Heraclitus of Ephesus)
• Very advanced stage of development
– End of the project
• ARIADNE main goal
– “Integration of existing archaeological research data
infrastructure through new and powerful
technologies” (ARIADNE DoW)
• “From differences results the most beautiful
harmony”(Heraclitus of Ephesus)

34. ARIADNE is a project funded by the European Commission under the
Community’s Seventh Framework Programme, contract no. FP7-
INFRASTRUCTURES-2012-1-313193.
The views and opinions expressed in this presentation are the sole
responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the
European Commission.
ARIADNE is a project funded by the European Commission under the
Community’s Seventh Framework Programme, contract no. FP7-
INFRASTRUCTURES-2012-1-313193.
The views and opinions expressed in this presentation are the sole
responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the
European Commission.
Thank you