A proposal for a collaborative Web Mapping for archaeological spatial data: OpenArcheoMap
Federico Nurra
Abstract This contribution would present the results of a research project developed during a PhD thesis: an open and collaborative Web Mapping platform on a global scale based on XML interchange protocols and accepted standards, in cartographical terms but also from an archaeological point of view. The last thirty years of computer applications dedicated to the detection and positioning of archeological findings have produced a multitude of information systems for the storage, systematization, publication and sharing of spatial data. In this paper, we will focus on the minimum specifications that the archaeological data should have in order to be uniform and interoperable, and above all, on the geometric and cartographic characteristics that would allow the production of a homogeneous archaeological mapping. Until this moment, the proposals for the production of archaeological cartography have been developed at local, regional, national or, with rare exceptions, continental scale. Thanks to recent advances in information technology, it is now possible to create an open platform for the implementation, storage, exchange, discussion and verification of spatial archaeological data on a global scale. We will identify the primary categories for the acquisition of archaeological data, by defining the minimum standards of compliance of the data, without, however, trivialize the data themselves, with a consequent dangerous loss of historical-topographical information. It will be fundamental to identify the four coordinates of objects acquired and a minimum data set of attributes, plus a set of metadata, essential in order to recognize the origin of the data, their nature, their authorship, production, quality and reliability. The proposal will be therefore the development of a Web Mapping platform, open and collaborative, for positioning and representation of archaeological remains, a sort of “cadaster”, and an analytical and detailed knowledge base to assist, support and address each territorial study.
