ARKWORK - Archaeological practices and knowledge work in the digital environment

As nations and the EU are making considerable investments in technologies, infrastructures and standards for all aspects of working with archaeological knowledge, critical understanding of how this knowledge is produced and used remains fragmentary. This COST Action will overcome this fragmentation by forming a transdisciplinary network that brings together the knowledge from individual research projects, national initiatives and EU projects (e.g. CARARE, LoCloud, Europeana Cloud, ARIADNE, DARIAH) in the field of archaeological knowledge production and use. This Action is an acute priority and prerequisite for ensuring the expected benefits of the large-scale investments in the cultural heritage sector.The better coordination of current fragmented efforts to study archaeological practices, knowledge production and use, social impact and industrial potential of archaeological knowledge will 1) strengthen and consolidate the current state of the art, as represented in leading research in the field, on the making and emergence of archaeological knowledge and its application for societal benefit, and 2) provide a basis for guidance to diverse stakeholders responsible for making, regulating, preserving, managing and using archaeological knowledge including field archaeologists, museum professionals, heritage administrators, researchers, policymakers, cultural industry and the public.

The particular interest of the ZRC SAZU lies in the fact, that through the involvement in the ARIADNE project we have become very interested in the current state-of-the-art in understanding and facilitating the use and curation of digital repositories of archaeological data (WG2) for knowledge production (e.g. https://www.slideshare.net/ariadnenetwork/ariadne-the-way-forward-to-digital-archaeology-in-europe, pp. 83). Our interest is furthered by a current situation where we are setting up a repository of archaeological data in Slovenia. In addition, we are interested in the use and usability of archaeological documentation by the different stakeholder groups (WG1) since we find understanding archaeological work and knowledge production in the field a prerequisite for planing the above mentioned curation of data.

30 European countries participate in the project.