Public Access through technology; Using archaeological computing to interact with wider audiences in new and engaging ways

Wessex Archaeology

Public Access through
technology

Using archaeological computing to
interact with wider audiences in new
and engaging ways

Paul Cripps
•Geomatics Manager, Wessex Archaeology
•PGR student, University of Southampton, Archaeological Computing Research Group
http://www.wessexarch.co.uk/ Public Access through technology

Wessex Archaeology

Overview
• A brief history of computing
• Building blocks
– Standards and frameworks
– Technology; hardware and
software
• Contemporary computing
– Access to information
– Spatial Technologies
– Mobile platforms
– Advanced Programming
Interfaces (APIs)
• Some exemplars
• Case Study; Stonehenge
Landscape Tour


Wessex Archaeology

Timeline
• 1960’s & 1970’s; the mainframe
• 1980’s: personal computers as business/research tools
– Limited home computing
– Commodore Pet, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Intel x86, Commodore Amiga,
Atari ST, Apple Mac
– The rise of the consoles: Nintendo, Sega
– Early archaeological databases
• 1990’s: computing becomes mainstream
– Email and communications
– Publicly accessible internet
– Increased use of databases and Geographic Information Systems in archaeology
for data management and analysis eg Stonehenge & Avebury WHS GIS
• 2000’s: massive steps forward
– Computing ubiquitous
– Specialist equipment still expensive, getting cheaper
– Boundaries blurring; computers as TV, phone, office tool, gaming platform,
diary/organiser
– The ‘cloud’
– The expectation of being able to use the web for pretty much anything including
finding out about heritage

Wessex Archaeology

Moving forward…

• Miniaturisation • Integration: the
– Smaller devices SmartPhone
• Better batteries for – GPS built in
mobile devices – Phone built in
– c. 8hrs with Windows – Cameras
Mobile Device • New devices and
– Days with a Nokia interfaces
SmartPhone, even with – Touch screens
GPS turned on!
– (Ruggedised) Tablets
• Better comms – Netbooks
– Bluetooth
• Cost
– Wifi
– Ever decreasing


Wessex Archaeology

The present day
• Desktop and laptop computers everywhere
• Range of mobile devices, fully integrated
– Higher accuracy GPS
– High resolution (video) cameras
– High quality audio
• Cheap yet powerful
– SmartPhones/Netbooks/laptops free with
mobile contract
• Web2.0!
• Broadband internet up to 40Mb/s
– 4x faster than 1990’s LANs!
• Mobile Internet almost everywhere
– Subject to network coverage…
– Fast broadband access (up to 7.2 Mb/s)
• Range of easy to use free and commercial
software for us to use


Wessex Archaeology

So what is being done with it all…?

• Location based services
– eg FireEagle, Twitter, Dopplr, BrightKite, Google Latitude, etc
– Location based searches:
• where’s the nearest Chinese takeaway rated 4/5 or better…?
• Blogging and micro-blogging
– eg Wordpress, Tumblr, Twitter
• Image/photo/video services
– eg Flickr, YouTube, Zoomr, TwitPic, etc
• Social Networking:
– eg Facebook, LinkedIn, etc
• Mashups
– User generated interfaces + open data sources
– Advanced Programming Interfaces (APIs) to provide access to systems
• Tours and trails
– eg mscape
– E-trails and mobile tours on mobile platforms
– Location based links to online resources via GPS location, Bluetooth, VR
tags, Wireless Hotspots, etc
• Inventory management using RFID (Radio Frequency ID) chips

Wessex Archaeology

and cultural heritage…?
• Online access to resources eg SMR/HERs and the NMR
• RSS, blogs, podcasts and newsfeeds
– Twitter: Wessex Archaeology, National Trust
• Tours and E-Trails
– eg RCAHMW Blaenavon E-Trail (mScape)
– eg NT Coastal Walks (pdfs to download or print)
• User generated Google Maps
– eg Stonehenge Landscape Tour
• QR tags
– eg the PowerHouse Museum, Sydney
• Community
– Social Networking and interaction
– Jobs resources eg BAJR
• Planning and development control
– Online planning portals
• Demand
– for more location-based content
– for access to underlying data sources


Wessex Archaeology

But all this is dependent on…
• Standards and frameworks
– Underpin any development
– Enable interoperability
– Joined up information systems
– Both technological and heritage
• Community led: these are our standards
– ALGAO, FISH, EH, Collections Trust, ADS, CIDOC
• Midas & Core Data Standard
– Specifies units of information
– Monument-Event-Source model
• Inscription and EH thesauri
– Provides the terms to use within Midas data structures
• CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model
– Ontology for describing data and mediating searches (amongst other
uses)
– Cross language, concept based searches vs simple keyword searches
• Advanced Programming Interfaces (APIs)

Wessex Archaeology

Exemplars

• Provide public access to cultural heritage information in
a variety of ways
• Range of information
– Textual descriptions and narratives
– Images
– User generated content
– Maps
– Visitor information eg opening times
• Sources and acknowledgements:
– English Heritage, Royal Commission on the Ancient and
Historical Monuments of Scotland, Norfolk County Council, Diego
Meozzi, Paola Arosio, Steve White, Wessex Archaeology, Oxford
Archaeology


Wessex Archaeology

National organisations


Wessex Archaeology

Pastscape

• Online access to the National Monument Record
archaeological database
– 400,000 records!
– Text records plus images (where available)
– Also visitor information (where applicable)
• Searches facilitated by standards driven
database (AMIE)
– By keyword
– By location


Wessex Archaeology

Canmore

• Search over 275,000 buildings, archaeological
and maritime sites across Scotland
• Discover what photographs, drawings,
manuscripts and books held in RCAHMS
collections
• View over 100,000 digital images
• Map based interface; CanMap


Wessex Archaeology

Treasured Places

• User generated content
– Places that matter to people
– Member of the public have valuable information to
contribute
– Links to Flickr to allow users to upload photographs
• Links to Canmore for official records


Wessex Archaeology

Heritage Gateway

• Aggregated search
– Search ALL gateway enabled resources simultaneously
• By keywords
• By location
– Pastscape, Images of England, numerous HERs
• Live search
– Uses web services model to talk to remote resources directly eg
Norfolk HER
• Extensible
– Possible to add more resources
• Has an API
– Currently closed 


Wessex Archaeology

Archaeology Data Service

• Provides advice and guidance
– Invaluable!
• Provides a repository for digital data
– Ongoing curation of digital datasets
• Provides access to digital resources
– Online via interactive websites
– Downloadable datasets
• Issues:
– Expensive; needs to pay its way…
– Data archive model limited vs distributed live systems


Wessex Archaeology

Local Authorities


Wessex Archaeology

Norfolk Heritage Explorer

• Exemplary online access to Norfolk HER
• Keyword/Location based searches facilitated by
standards driven database (HBSMR)
– Midas compliant, EH thesauri built in
• Variety of content
– HER records themselves
– Thematic narratives; place the records in context(s)
– Images
– Maps


Wessex Archaeology

Archaeological Contractors


Wessex Archaeology

Wessex Archaeology
• Archaeological unit
– Excavation, geophysics, survey, consultancy, finds, environmental, DBA,
SMR/HER enhancement/audit, community projects, etc…
• Educational Charity
– Outreach
• Use technology to help accomplish this
– Blogs, including user generated comments
– Podcasts
– Flickr photostream
– Twitter; news, chat, interaction
– Reports including Time Team
– Online (educational) games for primary school children
– GoogleMap (coming soon!)
– Access to our archives…?
• www.wessexarch.co.uk


Wessex Archaeology

Framework Archaeology
• Joint venture between Oxford
Archaeology and Wessex Archaeology
• Created to handle major infrastructure
projects eg Heathrow Terminal 5
• Developed the Framework FreeViewer
– Free GIS application
– Includes FA datasets
– Additional WA/FA datasets available for
download
• Allows anyone to analyse and
investigate project databases
– Using databases and spreadsheets
– Spatially using the FreeViewer
• Data also published using
GeoCommons


Wessex Archaeology

The public


Wessex Archaeology

Online Archaeology

• Created by Steve White
• Aggregates publicly accessible content
• Facilitates creation of user generated content
• Map interface, blogs, news, photos, etc
• Social Networking


Wessex Archaeology

Stone Pages

• User generated content
– Wealth of information built up over 19 years
– Active community
• European coverage of prehistoric sites
– Search tools, maps, news
• Community
– forums


Wessex Archaeology

What next…?

• Facilitate mashups using national/local resources
– The Advanced Programming Interface (API)
– Anyone can build a tool/service/gadget/map/etc
– Eg Online Archaeology Map
• Increased access through technology
• More user generated content
– Potential for linking user generated and authoritative
content
– Feedback: improved resources through greater use


Wessex Archaeology

Case Study


Wessex Archaeology

The Stonehenge Landscape Tour
• Built using ArcGIS & • Shows selected sites around the World
Google Earth, Geographic Heritage Site
Information Systems (GIS) • Includes links to associated resources
• Can be edited using – Wikipedia
GoogleMaps, web-based – Wiltshire SMR online
free GIS – Flickr (coming soon)
• Distributed using Keyhole
Markup Language (KML)
– Accessible to mobile
devices (PDAs and
SmartPhones) via
GoogleMaps Mobile using
Mobile Internet
– Accessible to larger
devices (Tablets and
NetBooks) via
GoogleEarth (using Mobile
Internet) and GIS (offline)

Wessex Archaeology

On the phone…

• Works on Symbian,
Windows Mobile,
Android, iPhone, etc
• GPS location ideal but
can use cell tower
triangulation


Wessex Archaeology

Finding out more…

• Links to more info
– Wikipedia
– SMR online
• Aerial photography
– Built in to GoogleMaps


Wessex Archaeology

Getting there…

• Browse list of stops
• View map of stops
• Directions to stops
– Walking, driving, even
public transport (where
available)


Wessex Archaeology

For larger devices…

• Mobile Internet
enabled netbooks,
laptops and tablets can
run Google Earth
• Support
external/internal GPS


Wessex Archaeology

And in Google Earth…


Wessex Archaeology

Work in progress

• Currently ‘proof of concept’
• More content to be added
– Both from recognised repositories and user generated
– More full descriptions
– Images and video
– More links to external resources
• More stops to add
• It is publicly accessible in current form
– Has been tested by us and other users
– Feedback
– www.tinyurl.com/shenge


Wessex Archaeology

Conclusions
• The web is everywhere • Hardware now cheap and easy to
• Standards and frameworks are use
essential – Smartphones by the millions
(Symbian, Windows Mobile,
• Now pretty straightforward to Android, iPhone)
provide mobile tours, e-trails and • Most include camera + GPS +
access to information high speed internet
– Online • Free on £20 contracts, including
– Offline 1Gb data allowance
– In the home/office – Laptops/Desktops now < £200
– Out and about – Home broadband internet from
£10 per month
• Expectations have been raised – Public access internet terminals in
– Greater computing skills amongst libraries and council offices
the general population,
archaeologists included • Growing online infrastructure of
– Familiarity with web-based tools
cultural heritage info to make use
including GIS and APIs of
– eg Heritage Gateway, ADS, online
SMRs


Wessex Archaeology

fin


Public Access through technology; Using archaeological computing to interact with wider audiences in new and engaging ways

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