The Matrix: connecting and re-using digital records and archives of archaeological investigations

This project will investigate how digital data from archaeological excavations can be made more useful and interesting to a range of users and audiences. It will produce a plan and methods to get such data more consistently recorded, analysed, disseminated and archived in a way that is Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-useable (FAIR).

The project has four objectives 1) Digital Standards; 2) Heritage Data; 3) Stratigraphy Standards; 4) Search Tools; that aim to address 2 research areas:
1. How can we encourage the sharing, linking and interoperability of archaeological data and information, particularly information derived from the commercial sector in order to maximise public value and enhance the research potential of archaeological data?
2. How can we ensure the consistent development, application and enforcement of existing technical information and data
standards and their promotion to others?

Over the last 20 years the Heritage sector and others have concentrated on how the digital data created and stored on computers can be preserved to the same degree that museum objects, like the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum, can be kept for the benefit of future generations. This interest in digital preservation has been especially strong in the archaeological world where excavation data sets are being increasingly gathered as "born digital" data, using the latest computer technologies, i.e. data created on, and only preservable on a computer. Archaeologists, are particularly concerned to make sure that digital records of excavations are safely digitally archived and preserved for future research, because an archaeological excavation cannot be repeated. This focus has helped address the principle concerns about "how do we keep this stuff digitally". But although there are now well established digital archives, such as The Archaeology Data Service, their next challenge is whether the data are preserved and accessible in a way that makes that data most useful to others beyond the archives and the archivists?

This project will address the current problems caused by the lack of standardized approaches to digital archiving of archaeological data using the particular case study of stratigraphic and phasing data. Stratigraphic data form the backbone of all the related archaeological records from each excavated site and are essential for integrated analysis, wider synthesis and accessible archiving of the growing body of archaeological data and reports generated through the commercial archaeological sector in the UK and internationally. The stratigraphic record, usually in the form of a stratigraphic matrix, with associated relationships and data, acts as a primary, if not the primary piece of 'Evidence' for how, and in what order, the site was excavated. As such the stratigraphic matrix is the key mechanism that enables anyone less familiar with the site, to re-visit the excavation records, understand what data is most relevant for any particular research questions, or problems encountered, and piece together the underlying details of how the interpretations by the excavator(s) were actually arrived at. However, such records are often only held on paper or scanned copies of matrix diagrams that cannot easily be re-used with associated data. Often the key phasing data needed for synthesis work and interpretive understanding is not well documented or archived consistently, if at all, in written reports. This results in key records being unsearchable or remaining unconnected to other data and at best usually requires lengthy and wasteful re-keying if any one wishes to work with the archives from such sites. The focus of digital archives and museums is now switching from simply providing better access to digital archives, to questions of how are users in commercial units, curatorial organizations and academia, along with the general public, going to make best use of this growing body of digital information and data.

One major group who will benefit from this research will be the commercial archaeology contractors searching for and working with digital archives. The importance of this group has been recently recognized in responses to the Mendoza review of Museums and Archives (Mendoza 2017): "This development of the archaeological profession has effectively removed from the taxpayer the burden of funding archaeological recording in advance of development, as was the case prior to 1990, while ensuring important archaeological information and finds are safeguarded and new historical stories contribute to our national identity. The commercial archaeological sector therefore provides a significant benefit to the public". In the last 20-30 years there has been a huge growth in the amount of archaeological information resulting from the requirement in the UK for archaeological work to be undertaken in response to planning applications and the development control process. As such the results of The Matrix project will improve the outcomes from the planning process, help inform policy development, and enable a more targeted approach to understanding and identification of new research topics.

As a result there is a growing body of archaeological reports (via OASIS and Historic Environment Records) but a much less consistent approach to digital archiving of the data that is associated with those reports. However due to the dispersed nature of commercial archaeological work it is not within the remit of any single commercial organization to address these issues at a national scale. There has been a growing concern at a professional level, e.g. the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists, about the lack of a standardized approach to digital archiving of the results of archaeological project work. For commercial bodies that will be digitally archiving data it will enable them to build consistent data management planning for stratigraphic and related data into their organisational workflows. This would streamline their project management activities and thus should improve the actual use and accessibility of the data thereby providing potential cost savings on how they manage their data across multiple projects.

Another group to benefit from the project outcomes will be independent researchers, such as those who work in local society archaeological groups who are seeking information about archaeological projects. Independent researchers will benefit from the improved sign-posting to information available in the archives. In addition should the local societies be undertaking any fieldwork investigations they will be in a position to archive any results in the most accessible manner for others. The stratigraphic data in particular needs to be consistently archived to enable researchers in the commercial organisations or local society groups that may be undertaking to investigate new sites, to find information that is currently inaccessible, about work undertaken by other organisations in the vicinity.

A number of different projects have been developed in the last 10 years to try and synthesize the results of multiple commercial investigations, such as The Roman Rural Settlement project (Fulford ). One major issue identified in such work was a lack of standardized approaches to archiving of the stratigraphic records. For those wanting to synthesize data from across different excavations, it is critical to be able to search across and compare data from similar types of stratigraphic features and phases. The Fellowship will identify ways to improve the better standardization for structuring data, will making it much more feasible for results from different sites to be brought together and aid those who collate data from multiple interventions, enabling new analytical methods to be applied and interpretations derived from extant data.