Databases for Multiple Archaeological Excavations and Internet Applications

Abstract

The science of Archaeology has been in existence for a long time and the way an archaeological excavation is conducted hasn’t changed much. However, the way archaeological data is recorded has changed dramatically by the progress of technology and the widespread use of computers. Nowadays, almost any archaeological excavation uses databases to record not only the objects which have been found, but also the various data which come up during the excavation process (Lock, 2003). Many remarkable researches have been conducted by archaeologists who developed standards and methods for recording the data which was produced during an archaeological excavation. Although many excavators use particular standards and methods for data recording, these usually cannot be completely implemented and have to be adapted to the particular requirements of the excavation. The reasons why this is happening are the various differences excavations have; in how archaeologists excavate a site, which data is recorded and how the data is characterized (we will discuss further this topic in the following chapters).