Schlagwort-Archive: Digital Cultural heritage

ARTE-Sendung Archäologie 2.0 – Mit Hightech auf Spurensuche

Der europäische Kultursender ARTE zeigt am Samstag, den 17. Juni 2017 um 22.40 Uhr in Erstausstrahlung den neuen Dokumentarfilm „Archäologie 2.0 – Mit Hightech auf Spurensuche“, der von Radio Bremen unter Regie von Susanne Brahms produziert wurde.
„Altertum trifft auf hippe Technik: In Berlin entwickeln Archäologen gemeinsam mit Game-Designern virtuelle Kopien beschädigter Stätten, wie die eines Tempels in Aleppo. In Irland suchen Wissenschaftler mit geophysikalischen Methoden nach den sagenumwobenen Ringwallanlagen und jungsteinzeitlichen Hügelgräbern. Eine Reise in die virtuelle Vergangenheit…“, so die Ankündigung auf der ARTE Mediathek-Webseite, wo schon jetzt vorab ein Filmtrailer zu sehen ist.
Dabei stapelt der Filmtitel genau genommen eigentlich zu tief: Denn das, was gezeigt wird, ist er aktuelle State-of-the-Art in den archäologischen Wissenschaften zu digitalbasierten Prospektionen, Visualisierungen, Analysen, vernetzten Daten und Informationen sowie Archivierungen, der über erste größere Digitalisierungsmaßnahmen und Anwendungen seit den 1990er Jahre weit hinausgeht, was man als Archäologie 2.0 bezeichnen könnte. So wird ein Großteil des weitgefächerten Spektrums der modernen Archäologie 4.0 vorgestellt – besonders im Hinblick auf virtuelle Räume und neue Präsentationsmöglichkeiten für die Museologie, die archäologisches Wissen interaktiv und virtuell (an-)fassbar für neue Besuchergruppen erschließt. Des Weiteren wird gezeigt, dass der „Quantensprung“ der Wissensvermehrung in der Archäologie in den letzten Jahrzehnten maßgeblich durch den konsequenten Einsatz von digitalen Methoden bedingt ist, wie der Film sehr anschaulich verdeutlicht und zwar anhand der systematischen Auswertung von per Befliegungen erhobenen LiDAR-Laserscandaten für die Landschaftsarchäologie, die mit der massenhaften Erkennung von bisher unbekannten Bodendenkmalen einhergeht. Dabei wird ein ganz neues Bild einer prähistorischen Kulturlandschaft aufgezeigt, das den Menschen u.a. nun auch in den Kontext größerer, überregionaler Beziehungen stellt und damit grenzüberschreitende Vergleiche weit besser ermöglicht.

LiDAR-Geländemodell in Kombination mit den ebenfalls georeferenzierten, geophysikalischen Prospektionen prähistorischer Erdwerke in Irland im EU-Projekt ArcLand.

Expert Forum on “The future of archaeological knowledge curation 2021-2026”, 16-17 June 2016 in Athens

The ARIADNE Expert Forum “The future of archaeological knowledge curation 2021-2026” on 16-17 June 2016 in Athens, Greece is organized by the Digital Curation Unit, IMIS-Athena Research Centre. It is co-organized with the Faculty of Information (iSchool), University of Toronto and the Department of Informatics, Athens University of Economics and Business as part of the activities of ARIADNE – Advanced Research Infrastructure for Archaeological Dataset Networking in Europe.

The Expert Forum aims to unite an international community of researchers in a constructive debate on the use of digital technology to ensure the future value of pre-existing archaeological knowledge through further curation, access and reuse. In tandem with organized archaeological databases, corpora and repositories it will reflect on the future of past excavation data and archives, commercial archaeology reports, archaeological museum collections, corpora and gazetteers, historical and ethnographic testimonies, grey literature, and visualizations of archaeological entities. It will seek to synthesize the experiences, know-how and insights of participants on how to address the growing curation crisis in archaeology in an increasingly pervasive networked digital environment, and on the challenges faced and opportunities offered by digital infrastructures in the next 5-10 years. The viewpoints invited are multi-disciplinary and diverse, ranging from academic researchers to practitioners, and from archaeologists to specialists in information, archival science, computer science, and science and technology studies. ARIADNE is looking for informed and thoughtful contributions to an interactive process, rather than for a pre-prepared formal talk or conference paper.

ARIADNE Summer School on archaeological digital curation-

PDF-Text ARIADNE Summer School on archaeological digital curation

This Expert Forum is an initiative of the ARIADNE Special Interest Group on Archaeological Research Methods and Practices, and seeks to take forward the work of a highly successful Expert Forum on Digital Futures of Archaeological Practice 2020-2025 organized in 2015. It is part of a Summer School on the Digital curation of archaeological knowledge: New approaches to digital research, information management and communication in archaeology, planned to take place in Athens between 12–17 June 2016 in Athens, Greece, as an ARIADNE (WP8 – Data and Dataset Design) Trans-National Access (TNA) activity. The Summer School is structured in two parts: a Workshop from 12-16 June, and the Expert Forum on 16-17 June.

A limited number of bursaries, covering the cost of participation, travel and accommodation to a maximum of 1000 Euros, are available to prospective participants who are employed by or are registered as students in an institution located in one of the EU Member States and Associated States. All levels of applicants, from experienced scholars to graduate students, will be considered. Applicants should specify if they wish to attend the Workshop, the Expert Forum, or both. A selection panel will be evaluating bursary applications on a rolling basis until 5 June 2016.

You will find the draft programme and further details on the Expert Forum and Summer School at http://summerschool.dcu.gr
Information on the selection process, eligibility criteria, priorities and application forms can be found on the ARIADNE website, http://www.ariadne-infrastructure.eu/Transnational-Access/How-to-apply Finally, information on the ARIADNE infrastructure is available at http://www.ariadne-infrastructure.eu , and on the Digital Curation Unit at http://www.dcu.gr

Project RetroDig is launched at Heidelberg University

As a case study in the field of digital cultural heritage the project RetroDig develops infrastructure and workflows for retro-digitalisation and academic analysis of paper-based documents. The Project RetroDig concentrates on retro-digitalisation and academic analysis of analog records focused on preserving information. Retro-digitalisation also signifies standardised   digitalisation of analog media and transformation of information to machine-readable data for large scale computation and analysis.

The present and so far unpublished documentation of the Roman fort excavation in Heidelberg-Neuenheim in the 1970s were reprocessed. Data from area of interest was all analog so far. Due to the course of the excavations, where researched records are mostly irrecoverable going to be destroyed, only the documentation of records is the only way for ongoing studies. Production methods, storage conditions, environmental influences and also the simple touching of paper documents are reducing the span of life and threaten the recorded data upon it.

Ziziphus - Screenshot

Fig. 1: Retro-digitalisation of the excavation diary; editors draft for annotation of text and image section with person name markings; source: excavation dairy “Heukemes” of the excavation “Kastellweg 1975” Kurpfälzische Museum Stadt Heidelberg ©.

The goal of Digital Cultural Heritage project RetroDig is the extraction of a best possible digital copy. Thereby the analysis and extraction of the contained information shall be proceeded at very little effort. The information will be stored as future secured interoperable data for prospective usage in the field of Digital Humanities. In order to do so, already developed digital tools will be used, modified and provided as a cheap and lasting open-source solution (see figure above). The results of the case study can be used disciplinary in research and teaching – the developed infrastructure, however, can also be used interdisciplinary in other academic fields.

Within the project work flow, the first task was scanning the archive inventory containing hundreds of separate drawn excavation plans and handwritten field notes as well as revised and verified photographs. After that, standardised scanning of archival footage with calibrated settings and meta-data enrichment of scanned data in the Tamboti Ecosystem began. The archival footage is now to be fully digitalised by transcribing the scanned handwritten notes. The digitalised data is based upon the Extensible Markup Language-Standard (XML), which is the base for further textual data analysis (see figure below). In the last step, all data will be added to the Tamboti Ecosytem, where they will be permanently available for further evaluation, presentation and publication of the results of the excavations. RetroDig is a cooperation of the Junior Research Group Digital Humanities and Digital Cultural Heritage, and the Heidelberg Research Architecture (HRA) at the Cluster of Excellence Asia and Europe in a Global Context, in joint collaboration with the Kurpfälzische Museum of the City of Heidelberg.

xml-screenshot

Fig. 2: XML file from transcribed text out of the scanned handwritten notes, JRG DH/ HRA ©.

Within our next steps, we are developing a digital edition of the so far unpublished excavations of the Roman fort in Heidelberg-Neuenheim. And we co-operate with the project HyperImage [7] in order to generate powerful image-text-multimedia annotations within exhibitions in a context of museal presentations with interactive applications via touch screens.

[1] https://heidelberger-forum-edition.de/retrodigitalisierung

[2] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidelberg_in_r%C3%B6mischer_Zeit

[3] http://kjc-sv016.kjc.uni-heidelberg.de:8080/exist/apps/tamboti/modules/search/index.html

[4] http://www.asia-europe.uni-heidelberg.de/en/research/jrg/jrg-digital-humanities.html

[5] http://www.asia-europe.uni-heidelberg.de/en/hra-portal.html

[6] http://www.museum-heidelberg.de/pb/,Lde/Startseite/Museum/Forschung.html

[7 ]http://hyperimage.ws/

LiDAR based semi-automatic pattern recognition within an archaeological landscape

A PhD-project in association with Dr. Armin Volkmann (Junior Research Group Digital Humanities and Digital Cultural Heritage at the Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing and Cluster of Excellence Asia & Europe in Global Context), Prof. Dr. Alexander Zipf and Jun.-Prof. Bernhard Höfle (Geoinformatics), Prof. Dr. Diamantis Panagiotopoulos (Institute of Archaeology), and funded by the HGS MathComp Graduate School at Heidelberg University. In further collaboration with Bayerisches Landesamt für Vermessung (BLV) und Denkmalpflege (BLD), and Karlsruhe Institut für Technologie (KIT).

The project is focused on adapting and creating semi-automatic procedures for handling and processing LiDAR data within cultural heritage monument detection and large scale cultural heritage management. Particular emphasis is on the implementation of pattern recognition algorithms for semi-automatic detection within 3D, 2½D, and 2D LiDAR derived data.

The utilization of LiDAR provides several novel approaches for locating and monitoring cultural heritage, especially in areas of logistical complications, e.g. forest, rough terrain, and remote areas (cf. figure 1 & 2). In order to cope with the huge amount of generated 3D LiDAR point clouds, systematic and semi-automated procedures needs to be defined to control and handle these accumulated amounts of otherwise unrestrained information.

In doing so, the effort of this project will be focused on pattern recognition algorithms to define quantitative methods of handling and processing 3D LiDAR data and subsequent 2D raster by implementing standardised and state of the art systematic and semi-automated approaches for cultural heritage detection and management.

Further, a research data gateway will be created within a WebGIS for extended parameterization of 2D and 3D LiDAR data with added databases of archaeological site information.

Figure 1.  Multiple layers on reality. Combining laser scanning for optimal scaling possibilities together with other sources, often reveal new features yet unknown. Figure 1 displays airborne and terrestrial laser scanning combined with street map at the Königstuhl, Heidelberg. New features detected; a house, two cellar structures, and several pathway and terrace systems dating back to the 16th and 17th century. Source: ALS Landesamt für Geoinformation und Landentwicklung Baden-Württemberg. TLS: Höfle, Pfeiffer and Raun. Map: OpenStreetMap.

Figure 1.
Multiple layers on reality. Combining laser scanning for optimal scaling possibilities together with other sources, often reveal new features yet unknown. Figure 1 displays airborne and terrestrial laser scanning combined with street map at the Königstuhl, Heidelberg. New features detected; a house, two cellar structures, and several pathway and terrace systems dating back to the 16th and 17th century. Source: ALS Landesamt für Geoinformation und Landentwicklung Baden-Württemberg. TLS: Höfle, Pfeiffer and Raun. Map: OpenStreetMap.

Figure 2. Revealing landscape. Underneath the underwood on Reussenberg near Karsbach, several new details arise in the interpolated landscape around the 13th century Reussenburg ruin. Source: ALS and historical maps: Bayerisches Landesamt für Vermessung.

Figure 2.
Revealing landscape. Underneath the underwood on Reussenberg near Karsbach, several new details arise in the interpolated landscape around the 13th century Reussenburg ruin. Source: ALS and historical maps: Bayerisches Landesamt für Vermessung.

 

 

New Junior Research Group “Digital Humanities and Digital Cultural Heritage” at Cluster of Excellence “Asia and Europe in a Global Context”, University of Heidelberg

The aim of the JRG Digital Humanities is the establishment of knowledge for digital methods and standards in the humanities and the arts. The spectrum of the young discipline of digital humanities ranges from the corpus linguistics through computer philology to applied computer sciences. The JRG thus complements the ongoing projects of the Heidelberg Research Architecture (HRA) in the field of digital cultural heritage, which involve issues revolving around the standardization of workflows and the digitization and treatment of heterogeneous data sets (text, sound, images, and data). In addition, the JRG supports the HRA with the conceptual development of the teaching of innovative methods of digital humanities at Heidelberg University and are planning to jointly organize workshops, training sessions, and seminars at different levels of knowledge for specific target groups.

Within the framework of this research group we examines discourses linked to new possibilities in the use of digital methods in archeology and evaluates opportunities and risks associated with big research datasets. This will results in standardized workflows for further archaeological investigations. We are also part of a team which works with GIS and LIDAR laser scanning data (2D and 3D modelling) in cooperation with a network of various research institutions within a digital research infrastructure. Furthermore, we  are developing VREs (virtual research environments) for specific workflows such as the digitization of sub-projects in the humanities and arts.

http://www.asia-europe.uni-heidelberg.de/en/research/jrg/jrg-digital-humanities.html

2 Doctoral Scholarships in “Archaeological Information Systems” and “GIScience/Geoinformatics”

The Junior Research Group “Digital Humanities/Digital Cultural heritage” of the Cluster of Excellence “Asia and Europe in a Global Context,” in cooperation with the “Heidelberg Graduate School for Mathematical and Computational Methods in the Sciences”, offers two doctoral scholarships with focus on “Archaeological Information Systems” and “Digital Cultural heritage”.

Within the framework of the research group we will look at discourses linked to changes of new possibilities in the use of digital methods in archeology. Opportunities and risks associated with big research data sets will be ascertained. This results in standardized workflows that serve further investigations. We work on a team with GIS and laser scan data (2D and 3D modeling) in cooperation with a research network of various institutions within a digital research infrastructure. And we also develop VREs (Virtual Research Environments) for specific digitalization workflows of sub-projects in archaeology.

The successful applicants’ primary task will be to complete a PhD degree, but active participation in relevant graduate courses offered at the Cluster of Excellence or other institutes at Heidelberg University is recommended. The stipends are rated at € 1200 to 1468/month. Access to travel and publication funding is available.

Candidates must hold an M.A. or equivalent in a relevant discipline of Pre- and Early History (“Ur- und Frühgeschichte”), Historical Sciences, GIScience /Geoinformatics, Landscape Archaeology and Geomatics or Archaeological Information Systems (“Archäoinformatik”) etc. and experience in archaeological fieldwork methods in Europe and/or Asian contexts. Proficiency in English is mandatory. German and French language skills are desirable. An interest in interdisciplinary collaboration is essential.

To apply, send curriculum vitae, academic transcripts, an outline of a dissertation project (2-3 pages) related to the research group, names and contact details of two referees, and one written sample (altogether in one PDF) via email to Dr. Armin Volkmann (armin.volkmann[at]asia-europe.uni-heidelberg.de). Stipend start should be in 2013, review of applications will continue until the positions are filled.

Heidelberg University is an equal opportunity/affirmative-action employer. In case of equality of qualification and suitability of applicants, the applications made by female researchers will be given preferential consideration. We also encourage and welcome applications from disabled persons.

For additional information see: http://www.asia-europe.uni-heidelberg.de/en

Semi-automatisierte Detektion von Bodendenkmälern in Airborne-Laserscandaten (LIDAR)

In den letzten Jahren sind durch systematische Befliegungen der Vermessungsämter der einzelnen Bundesländer hochauflösende Airborne-Laserscandaden (LIDAR) erhoben worden, aus denen sehr detaillierte 3-dimensionale Modelle der Geländeoberfläche (Geländemodelle) erstellt werden können.[1] Die Messpunktdichte liegt im wenigen Dezimeterbereich, sodass auch sehr kleinräumige Objekte unter einem Meter Größe dargestellt werden können. Diese Geländemodelle werden üblicherweise bisher meist in der Vermessungskunde, Kartografie, Bauleitplanung und den Hochwassermanagement eingesetzt. Für die Archäologie ist ihr Einsatz recht neu, wobei erste Projekte das hohe Erkenntnispotential verdeutlichen (vgl. Volkmann im Druck, 249-251). Das Innovative an LIDAR-Geländemodellen ist, dass durch die Verwendung des sogenannten „zweiten Meßsignals“ die Vegetationsbedeckung herausgerechnet werden kann (vgl. Opitz 2012, 16). So können bei der Interpolation der Geländemodelle auch kleinste Bodenerhebungen, als letzte Spuren von einstigen anthropogenen Bodeneingriffen, durch „Überhöhung“ sichtbar gemacht werden (vgl. Mark 1992). Dies ist beispielsweise von besonderer Relevanz in Waldgebieten, die aufgrund der störenden Vegetation der Bäume für klassische archäologische Prospektionsverfahren (systematische Oberflächenbegehungen), aber auch Geophysikalische Prospektionen nicht geeignet sind. In den Wäldern sind daher noch zahlreiche unbekannte Bodendenkmäler, die bisher nicht entdeckt wurden und so in archäologischen Studien nicht auswertbar sind. So ist anhand von mikroregionalen Studien, die eine Untersuchungsfläche systematisch und flächendeckend prospektierten, davon auszugehen, dass meist nur ca. 10% der Bodendenkmäler überhaupt bekannt sind. Die Dunkelziffer der zu 90% unbekannten Bodendenkmäler kann durch die systematische Anwendung von LIDAR erheblich gesenkt werden. Dies ist nicht nur für das Cultural Heritage des Management und die Erfassung des Weltkulturerbes der Denkmale ein Desiderat, sondern auch im Rahmen der Bauleitplanungen können so archäologische Verdachtsflächen präziser ausgewiesen werden, was eine größere Planungssicherheit für die Investoren ermöglicht. Für quantitative Untersuchungen der archäologischen Wissenschaften, ist es essentiell notwendig möglichst viele (im äußerst seltenen Idealfall alle) Bodendenkmäler einer Region zu kennen, um sich so der ehemaligen „prähistorischen Wirklichkeit“ annähern zu können. Dieses Forschungsfeld wird als Landschaftsarchäologie bezeichnet, innerhalb der komplexe, prähistorische Besiedlungsmuster des Verhältnisses von Burgen, Siedlungen, Wegenetze und Friedhöfe etc. zueinander analysiert werden.
In den Landesvermessungsämtern liegen mittlerweile gigantische Datenmengen an Airborne-Laserscandaten (LIDAR) vor. Um diese Datensätze für die oben genannten Fragestellungen effektiv und vor allem systematisch auswerten zu können, müssen Instrumentarien entwickelt werden, die dies in einem standardisierten Workflow erlauben (vgl. Hesse 2012, 176f.). Bisher sind die LIDAR-Daten meist nur im Einzelfall, oft ergänzend zu herkömmlichen archäologischen Ausgraben, eingesetzt worden. Dies sind dann aber nur Fallbeispiele, die zwar Rückschlüsse auf analoge Befunde erlauben, jedoch keine empirisch belegbaren Aussagen in quantitativen Studien zulassen.

[1] Siedlungsraumtransformationen der Spätantike bis zum Frühmittelalter am Main

Literatur:
R. Hesse, The changing picture of archaeological landscapes: lidar prospection over very large areas as part of a cultural heritage strategy. In: R.-S. Opitz/D.-C. Cowley (Ed.) Interpreting archaeological topography (2012) 171-183.
Z. Kokalj/K.Zaksek/K. Ostir, Visualisations of lidar derived relief models. In: S. R.-S. Opitz/D.-C. Cowley (Ed.) Interpreting archaeological topography (2012) 100-114.
H. Mara/S. Krömker/S. Jakob/B. Breuckmann, GigaMesh and Gilgamesh – 3D Multiscale Integral Invariant Cuneiform Character Extraction. In: A. Artusi/M. Joly-Parvex/G. Lucet/ A. Ribes/D. Pitzalis (Ed.), The 11th International Symposium on Virtual Reality, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage VAST (2010). http://uni-heidelberg.academia.edu/HubertMara
R. Mark, Multidirectional, oblique-weighted, shaded-relief image of the Island of Hawaii http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1992/of92-422/
R.-S. Opitz, An overview of airborne and terrestrial laser scanning in archaeology. In: R.-S. Opitz/D.-C. Cowley (Ed.) Interpreting archaeological topography (2012) 100-114.
A. Volkmann, Siedlung – Klima – Migrationen: Geoarchäologische Forschungen zur Oderregion zwischen 700 vor und 1000 nach Chr. mit Schwerpunkt auf der Völkerwanderungszeit (Bonn 2013).