CIDOC NEWSLETTER

Volume 7, August 1996
   [en français svp]

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES WORKGROUP REPORT

The Archaeological Sites Workgroup formally launched its Draft International Core Data Standard for Archaeological Sites and Monuments at the ICOM Triennial meeting in Norway, June 1995. The group recognized, however, that the publication and launching of the draft were only the first steps in a gradual process of gaining international acceptance - the ultimate goal being the widespread adoption of the data standard. Since the Norway event, the group has concentrated on disseminating and testing the standard.

The production of the data standard was carried out in close co-operation with the Council of Europe Documentation Group. A joint Council of Europe/Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England conference was held in Oxford, September 1995, to explore the role and functions of National Archaeologi-cal Records. Delegates discussed the format and content of a revised version of the data standard in an open session and voted that it should be sumbitted to the Council of Ministers for approval. Not only did the conference ensure that the relevant organizations received copies of the data standard and were able to discuss it, but also that it received the sanction of the Council of Europe.

At the Computer Applications in Archaeology conference at Iasi, Romania, in March 1996, the workgroup held two pre-conference workshops on the use of databases and the importance of data standards, and staff from the National Museum of Denmark demonstrated a prototype database which they have developed, based on the CIDOC standard. There was a great deal of interest in this database, which has given the workgroup feedback on the practical implementation of the data standard, particularly the data model, and which will influence later decisions on the revision of the document. This was an extremely successful and enjoyable conference and the group is grateful to the Centrul de Informatic i Memorie Cultural (CIMEC) for their kind hospitality.
An opportunity to promote the standard in the United States was afforded by the Society for American Archaeology's 61st Annual Meeting in New Orleans, April 1996. The workgroup presented a poster paper on its acitivities, highlighting the data standard, in a panel session on managing archaeological information and public interest. It was also able to disseminate copies of the standard, as well as other workgroup and CIDOC documentation, via the exhibition booth of the National Park Service. The workgroup is very grateful to the NPS for its help and support at this conference.

The workgroup now has its own home pages on the World Wide Web, outlining its activities and membership. The data standard, in English and French, can be accessed via these pages as can a paper by Henrik Hansen and Dominique Guillot, presented at the Oxford conference, on the development and importance of the standard. Members of the group have also been disseminating hardcopies of the document and were excited to learn that archaeologists in South Africa, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay are currently developing databases to field-test the data standard.

Menbership of the workgroup has continued to grow, particularly in the form of corresponding members. The group is regarded as an important forum for debate on issues affecting the recording of archaeological digs and monuments and as a source of information on organizations responsible for archaeological records worldwide.

The next meeting of the workgroup will be at the CIDOC conference in Nairobi, Kenya, in September 1996. The group intends to hold a workshop on the development and implementation of the data standard, using the Danish prototype database. It also plans to present the findings of its survey of national archaeological records.


For more information about the workgroup, please contact Henrik Jarl Hansen (Chair) or Gillian Quine (Secretary).