A presentation given by Peter McKeague (Historic Environment Scotland), Anthony Corns (Discovery Programme, Ireland) and Axel Posluschny (University of Bamberg, Germany) at the European Archaeological Consilium annual meeting in Brighton, March 2015.

1. Why the historic environment needs a Spatial
Data infrastructure
Peter McKeague (Historic Environment Scotland),
Anthony Corns (Discovery Programme, Ireland)
Axel Posluschny (University of Bamberg, Germany)

2. Laser scanning Analysis
Field survey
Remote sensing
Excavation Create the evidence base
Inform decision making
Historic Environment data – inherently spatial

3. But we don’t always know where the data is
• Retained by the data creator
• Lost
• Deposited in an archive – if so which archive
o Is it accessioned?
o Is it catalogued?
• Or how to use the data with other datasets
o Lack of standards in content
o Accuracy and format across projects
• Further hindered by accessibility
o Copyright
o Intellectual Property Rights
o Data hoarding
….but not easily accessible

4. INSPIRE sets down the general rules for establishing an
infrastructure for spatial information in Europe for the purposes of
Community environmental policies and policies or activities which
may have an impact on the environment
• Data should be collected once and maintained at the
level where this can be done most effectively
• The ability to combine seamlessly spatial data from different
sources and share it between many users and applications
• Spatial data should be collected at one level of government
(the Profession) and shared between all levels
• Spatial data needed for good Governance should be available
on conditions that are not restricting its extensive re-use
• It should be easy to discover which spatial data is available,
to evaluate its fitness for purpose, and to know which conditions
apply for its use.
Source: (after) David Fry, Inspire Directive: GIS Professional issue 15, April 2007, 18
and follows good governance of spatial data as defined by INSPIREINSPIRE: Delivering spatial data efficiently

5. The INSPIRE Directive: themes
Source: http://inspire.jrc.ec.europa.eu/reports/ImplementingRules/inspireDataspecD2_3v2.0.pdf
Annex I
1. Coordinate reference
systems
2. Geographical grid systems
3. Geographical names
4. Administrative units
5. Addresses
6. Cadastral parcels
7. Transport networks
8. Hydrography
9. Protected sites - *
Annex II
1. Elevation
2. Land cover
3. Ortho-imagery
4. Geology
Annex III
1. Statistical units
2. Buildings
3. Soil
4. Land use
5. Human health and safety
6. Utility and governmental services
7. Environmental monitoring facilities - *
8. Production and industrial facilities - *
9. Agricultural and aquaculture facilities - *
10. Population distribution – demography
11. Area management/restriction/regulation
zones & reporting units - *
12. Natural risk zones
13. Atmospheric conditions - *
14. Meteorological geographical features - *
15. Oceanographic geographical features
16. Sea regions
17. Bio-geographical regions - *
18. Habitats and biotopes - *
19. Species distribution - *
20. Energy Resources - *
21. Mineral resources - *
-* heavy weighting towards the natural environment

6. Annex I Protected Sites and the wider Historic Environment
A Protected Site is defined as an
“Area designated or managed within a framework of
international, Community and Member States' legislation
to achieve specific conservation objectives”
[Directive 2007/2/EC].
“..a Protected Site is an area of land and/or sea
especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of
biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural
resources, and managed through legal or other effective
means.”
[International Union for the Conservation of Nature]
The INSPIRE Directive – Protected Sites

7. What is a Spatial Data Infrastructure?
Coordinating body
Component GI Services
Framework GI / Thematic GI
Interoperability Standards
Resources Research & Development
Policies/LegalFramework
AccessMechanism
SDI is the technology, policies, standards, human resources and
related activities necessary to acquire, process, distribute, use,
maintain and preserve spatial data

8. What is a Spatial Data Infrastructure? … and why it matters
GI Enabled Business Applications and Services
Coordinating body
Component GI Services
Framework GI / Thematic GI
Interoperability Standards
Resources Research & Development
Policies/LegalFramework
AccessMechanism
Social, Economic and Environmental Benefits

9. The INSPIRE Directive
• Requires that existing data held by member states is compliant with INSPIRE standards
• It does not require the creation of new datasets but it does state that when new datasets
are created they must comply with INSPIRE standards
• INSPIRE requires Metadata for the creation and maintenance of searchable catalogues to
identify what data is available, who holds it and any access constraints.
• INSPIRE requires data publishers to setup network services
View Services (WMS)
Transformation services
Data harmonisation – consistent schema
Download services (WFS and ATOM feed)
• INSPIRE outlines charging for public access to services
• Monitoring and reporting on INSPIRE compliance
• INSPIRE is about Public Sector data – it does not address data created by the private
sector

10. Publication in Portals

11. Compiled by data curator
Published on Scottish SDI
Harvested to UK data.gov.uk portal
(and copied to MEDIN portal for marine data)
And in turn to the INSPIRE geo-portal
Separate metadata records for
Resource discovery (datasets)
View: Web Map Services
Download: Web Feature Services
Data search and retrieval only as good as the
Indexing of terms
What is needed is a
dedicated portal for
heritage datasets ?
Metadata records

13. Common terminologies
Brandenburg Tor, Berlin, Germany
The East Port, Dundee, Scotland
http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/details/1232014/Attribution: James Denham
Bootham Bar, York, England

14. Remote access, visibility and what we value: Eco-system services
http://www.openness-project.eu/
Managing change in landscapes through
decision support tools (Quickscan)
Data needs to be understood by the
non-specialist user

15. Excavation
Laser scanning
Analysis
and the techniques that inform our interpretation and decision making
The I
The INSPIRE Directive and the historic environment – much more than Sites
Cropmark interpretation Remote sensing
Field survey

16. Project
Remote Sensing
(Magnetometry,
resistivity etc)
Extent
Processed data
Analysis
/Interpretation
Field Survey
Extent
Mapping /
Interpretation
Excavation
Extent
Trench details
(Contexts)
Interpretation
Activity
Levels of information from fieldwork

17. Data specific metadata
Spatial Discovery metadata:
Describes the nature and content of the dataset
Exploration metadata:
The information required to ensure the data is appropriate for purpose
Exploitation metadata:
The information required to access, transfer and apply the data
Geophysical survey Airborne Laser Scanning Laser scanning
After:
Shaw, R., Corns, A. and McAuley J. Archiving Archaeological Spatial Data: Standards and Metadata
In the online proceedings of Making History Interactive, CAA 2009, 22-26 March 2009, Wiliamsburg, Virginia, USA

18. http://field2archive.org/map.php
Publication of remote sensing data: The National Roads Authority, Ireland

19. So why develop a thematic Spatial Data Infrastructure?
Coordinating body
Component GI Services
Framework GI / Thematic GI
Interoperability Standards
Resources Research & Development
Policies/LegalFramework
AccessMechanism
There is a wealth of spatial data created through fieldwork, analysis and designation
The value of the data is not realised beyond the individual project
- too often locked into publication and grey literature reports or catalogued in an archive
There is a need for a thematic approach to mapping: A Spatial Data infrastructure for Heritage

20. A thematic Spatial Data Infrastructure … work in progress?
Access Mechanism
Framework GI / Thematic GI
Component GI Services
Interoperability Standards CIDOC – CRM, Europeana EDM
Portals, Metadata, View and Download services
Need to agree on datasets and specifications
Policies / Legal Framework INSPIRE but no sectorial framework
Coordinating body No coordinated approach
Anyone who creates spatial data relating to heritageResources
Guidance exists, piecemeal implementation
Research & Development Ariadne, Arena, Europeana?

21. If OpenStreetmap can do it…why can’t we?

22. Peter McKeague
(Historic Environment Scotland)
peter.mckeague@rcahms.gov.uk
Anthony Corns
(Discovery Programme, Ireland)
anthony@discoveryprogramme.ie
Axel Posluschny
(University of Bamberg, Germany)
axel.posluschny@uni-bamberg.de
Why the historic environment needs a Spatial Data infrastructure