Description:

1.1 Introduction

1.1.1 Scope

This document presents CRMsurv, an extension of CIDOC CRM created a) to support the archaeological survey process and various entities and activities typically related to it, and b) to facilitate the mapping of existing survey documentation to a common, scientific and standard data representation. The model has been created starting from an analysis of existing data and metadata from a set of current and legacy survey projects conducted since the 1950s in central Italy, and enriched by continuous collaboration with various communities of archaeologists from different countries and schools around the northern Mediterranean [2, 3].

CRMsurv intends to provide all necessary tools to manage and integrate existing documentation in order to formalize knowledge extracted from observations made by archaeologists, recorded in various ways and adopting different standards [1]. In this sense, its purpose is to facilitate the semantic encoding, exchange, interoperability and access of existing archaeological documentation based on survey activities. It is based on an understanding of archaeological field survey as a systematic research activity aimed at collecting observations and portable materials from specified locations and areas on the earth's surface. The 'observations' part may include both direct observations and recordings of archaeological features, and anything deemed relevant to the process of observation itself, such as evidence for natural or anthropogenic processes affecting the preservation or detectability of archaeological remains or features before or during the survey process. The 'portable materials' part includes both details of the collection process itself, and of any subsequent processing, classification and interpretation stages that may take place either during or after the actual field survey.

The CRMsurv ontological model proper adds classes and properties to CIDOC CRM to allow the accurate representation of data regarding the survey event itself, the associated geodata, any archaeological sites and features encountered, and any other field observations; and data regarding the physical collections of portable artefacts made, any subgroupings of these, and individual artefacts.

Additionally, CRMSurv is deployed alongside a set of 16 ready-made semantic reference data models ("SEMAFORA SRDMs"), that provide guidance for the semantic description of the various 'branches' of the overall survey process, including various types of digital documentation; and of the persons, groups and institutions involved at various stages and in various capacities [4].

Adoption of CRMSurv and its related SRDMs will support archaeologists in determining the type, quantity and dating of the archaeological artefacts, features and sites present at the earth's surface during the time of the survey activity, at varying degrees of spatial and temporal resolution and forms the basis for any further analysis. Moreover, archaeologists can assess the process of data collection and interpretation itself because the model records where, when, how and by whom the primary survey data were generated, what factors were deemed to affect the quality of these data, and what physical and documentary evidence is available for further study.

One of the most important goals of the model is to overcome the differences resulting from the application of different survey techniques and procedures, e.g. from different traditions and schools of archaeology that have evolved over time, and to reveal the common ways of thinking that characterize systematic fieldwalking surveys. This will serve to provide a unified view that can express the common concepts without imposing any specific recording or investigation technique and will also provide a sound basis for the integration of data generated by various methods.

From a technical point of view, the model provides conceptual descriptions of classes and properties in an encoding-agnostic formalism (this very specification document), inherited from CIDOC CRM, allowing implementation of its concepts and relationships by the use of various languages and formal encodings (such as RDF and OWL), thereby providing maximum flexibility for operations of mapping and conversion and giving IT experts the freedom to implement it in the way they prefer. The model is also offered in RDF format.

The scope of CRMsurv is limited to survey related questions. It makes no attempt to model the excavation process, which is the domain of the CRMarchaeo extension (https://cidoc-crm.org/crmarchaeo/). Its scope is limited to archaeological remains present at the earth's surface, including those circulating in the plough layer.

1.1.2 Status

CRMsurv is the result of the work of a small project team consisting of both archaeological survey and conceptual modeling experts, financially supported in its later stages by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research 'Open Science' scheme but building on a decade of international consultations among survey practitioners and data owners meeting regularly in the IMS workshops, and semantic modeling experts meeting at regular SIG meetings. The first need that the model attempts to meet is to create a common ground for the integration of archaeological survey records on every level, from raw survey data to official documentation produced according to national and institutional standards. However, in a broader sense, it is always open to any possible integration and addition that may become necessary as a result of its practical use on real archaeological problems on a large scale. The model is intended to be maintained and promoted as an international standard.

1.1.3 Naming Conventions

All the declared classes were given both a name and an identifier constructed according to the conventions used in the CIDOC CRM model. For classes, that identifier consists of the letter U followed by a number. Resulting properties were also given a name and an identifier, constructed according to the same conventions. That identifier consists of the letters UP followed by a number, which in turn is followed by the letter "i" every time the property is mentioned "backwards", i.e., from target to domain (inverse link). "U" and "UP" correspond respectively to letters "E" and "P" in the CIDOC CRM naming conventions, where "E" originally meant "entity" (although the CIDOC CRM "entities" are now consistently called "classes"), and "P" means "property". Whenever CIDOC CRM classes are used in our model, they are named by the name they have in the original CIDOC CRM.

1.1.4 References

[1] de Haas, T & M van Leusen, in press. Digital Data Integration in Archaeology: an assessment of the status quo within Mediterranean Field Surveying. Leiden Archaeological Studies.

[2] de Haas, TCA & PM van Leusen, 2020. FAIR survey: improving documentation and archiving practices in archaeological field survey through CIDOC CRM. FASTI Online Documents and Research 2020-12: https://www.fastionline.org/docs/FOLDER-sur-2020-12.pdf

[3] Attema, PAJ, P Carafa, WM Jongman et al. 2021. The Roman Hinterland Project: integrating archaeological field surveys around Rome and beyond. European Journal of Archaeology 25(2): 238 - 258. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2021.51

[4] Using semantic modeling to create FAIR open data for archaeological field survey: a showcase and toolkit (SEMAFORA). Zenodo community, https://zenodo.org/communities/semafora/?page=1&size=20

Status:

Reference namespaces:

CIDOC CRM version 6.2

CRMsci version 1.2.3

CRMdig version 3.2.1

CRMarchaeo version 1.4.1

Contributors: