TEtrArc

Relevance to the Specific Challenge Digital data curation for cultural heritage has reached a critical impasse. A central tension exists between the need to preserve cultural resources, and the dynamic potential for their use and re-use in democratic and just ways. At the same time, the introduction of the tetrarchy of FAIR Guiding Principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) for scientific data management and stewardship (Wilkinson et al. 2016) has set an important challenge: that each of the four principles is of equal importance and must therefore be engaged with equally. Within archaeology, much work has been done over the last 20 years to make data Findable, Accessible and Interoperable, but very little is understood about whether data is Reusable–and by whom. The impact of this gap in knowledge is profound, as cultural heritage data are increasingly drawn into divisive debates, dangerous speech, cross-border misinformation-sharing and xenophobia, therein compromising human solidarity and social cohesion (Bonacchi and Krzyzanska 2021). Transforming data rE-use in ARCHaeology (TEtrARCHs) will address the impasse, where (per the CHANSE Call) “research is...needed...to identify the potentially adverse impacts of digital innovations,” and solutions are required to progress us “from passive observation and critical distancing”–which have long been foundational to data curation practices–to “active participation in shaping the processes of digitalisation...in order to move towards...more equal, democratic, knowledge-based access…” Our goal is to provide those who capture, curate and apply cultural heritage data with critically-aware methodologies to prepare their data for enhanced re-use, then experiment with such re-use through storytelling scenarios involving cross-European audiences. As both an early adopter and user of a wide range of digital methods, archaeology is an ideal lens through which to develop and test these methodologies and scenarios. “How do we create and secure spaces for free and creative thoughts in a digitalised world?” The most compelling form of re-use is storytelling, which can foster interaction between those who find or interpret heritage assets, and those for whom they might generate value and meaning. As archives for digital assets continue to focus on best practice and conforming to international standards, the ways these assets can be used and re-used have become more static, while the metadata created to make these data FAIR do not allow them to be easily found, much less (re)used for compelling narratives. Furthermore, by engaging with aspects of Machine Learning such as Natural Language Processing and Automated Image Recognition, oblique layers of interpretation are now also added to the data in ways that cannot be openly interrogated. Storytelling itself relies on a very different type of expression and structure from what is typically used in digital cultural heritage stewardship workflows. Whereas the latter might be prescriptive and mostly devoid of emotion, the former tends to revolve around powerful themes of human life, love, struggle, triumph and defeat, told in ways that explicitly provoke feeling and capture attention—often leading to ethical (and unethical) action on the world (Perry 2019). We believe that the future of digital curation depends upon reconciling this divide, managing the integrity of our data, while simultaneously optimising it for more impactful expression within the world at large. For cultural heritage, this means priming the data to explore higher-order questions about humanity including: ● What might justice, resistance, insecurity, fear, jealousy, hope, romance, spirituality or courage have looked like in the past? ● How have people deceived, coped with, played amongst, desired, envied, betrayed or befriended one another across space and time? ● How does loneliness, ambition, prejudice, morality, independence, servitude or freedom manifest in the historical record? How might we deploy this knowledge today to effect pro-social change? TEtrARCHs will co-create and assess experimental workflows—and develop an associated controlled vocabulary—to better understand and recommend how to apply these higher-order themes of humanity, creativity and emotion to newly-captured and existing digital cultural heritage data. 2. Potential for research excellence The last decade has seen extensive efforts to make digital assets more accessible and dynamic through experimentation with interoperability in Cultural Heritage aggregation infrastructures (e.g., the Europeana 1 TEtrARCHs Transforming data rE-use in ARCHaeology or ARIADNE portals). Such infrastructures allow static resources to be updated and cross-searched, but to do so, the metadata for these assets must be mapped in a centralised and controlled way. This can take the shape of mapping to a controlled vocabulary, thesaurus or ontology, which invariably reflects the types of terminology and relationships defined by those who are charged with curating the data (domain specialists), not those who might use the data in new and innovative ways. TEtrARCHs builds upon initiatives which seek to improve the accessibility of digital cultural heritage data via interfacing with those data: browsing them, searching them, and retrieving them in more ‘generous’ ways (e.g., Whitelaw 2015). However, even as such experimentation grows, the assets themselves continue to be bound by relatively narrow classifications imposed by experts. Herein structure and reliability are maintained, but relevance and accessibility to the wider world remain limited (Manzo et al. 2015). The stories that can be told through the data are often narrow and pre-determined, with the vast majority devoid of affect, sensuality and agency (Krmpotich and Somerville 2016). The urgency of the predicament is heightened by growing interdisciplinary acknowledgement that this rift is directly linked to systemic bias, social inequity and racial injustice in data repositories (Sanderson and Clemens 2020). Efforts to rectify these biases include archival redescription (Pringle 2020), revised ethical metadata standards (Farnel 2018), felt-experience conceptual model extensions (Canning 2018), and alternative ‘fluid ontologies’ (Srinivasan 2018). The imperative for change to data infrastructures is overt. Yet recognition that such change must begin from the moment the data are conceived (as opposed to the moment they are deposited into a repository) has been slow in coming. Furthering our argument is the rapid pace of innovation with data acquisition technologies, whose workflows still fail to capture important descriptive detail, emotion, human values and multiple viewpoints. Even as community-driven practices grow in popularity, fundamental redesign of our workflows and data to embed communities and justice at their core is still lacking (Dolcetti et al. 2021). Design Justice frameworks enabling such value-led, co-created redesign of digital structures are blossoming (Costanza-Chock 2020), but their systematic use in fields like archaeology is effectively nonexistent. The critical impasse identified by TEtrARCHs is largely the result of data siloing: divisions between different clusters of creators (e.g., archaeologists vs. computer scientists) with different priorities (the needs of data creators vs. the needs of data preservers vs. the needs of data users). Only through a holistic, co-created process can these siloes be breached. Hence TEtrARCHs aims to ensure research excellence by working in an iterative and interdisciplinary way, reimagining the potential for archaeological data at every point in its lifecycle: from the point of capture in the field, to the way it is recorded, mapped, collated, analysed, accessed and (re)used. To do so, TEtrARCHs will work to the following objectives: 1. Understand how to create new workflows and change existing workflows for archaeological data to make re-use of equal priority to the other FAIR Principles. 2. Expand and optimise these new workflows for storytelling by memory institutions and creative practitioners, breaking down silos to allow more equal, democratic, knowledge-based access. 3. Change professional practice by domain specialists–data creators (archaeologists) and stewards (digital repositories)–by creating and promoting best practices that optimise data for re-use. TEtrARCHs recognises that to realise these objectives, and in line with Design Justice approaches, Knowledge Exchange (KE) must take the form of iterative co-creation and participatory design of project activities with user communities. The following methodology will thus be implemented over three years (including two, month-long archaeological field seasons linked to Activity #2 below), with KE embedded at the core of each through our CPs (who represent or provide direct access to users): 1. Assess how archaeological researchers, memory institutions and creative practitioners would optimally (re)use data, via dedicated focus groups and rapid ethnographic assessment. 2. Use the results of the assessment to co-create and implement new, experimental data capture and post-excavation workflows, focussed specifically on re-use by archaeological researchers, memory institutions and creative practitioners. 3. Develop the world’s first controlled vocabulary for cultural heritage optimised for storytelling, 2 TEtrARCHs Transforming data rE-use in ARCHaeology organised hierarchically into a thesaurus, co-designed and scenario-tested with key user groups (domain specialists, creatives, memory institutions and affiliates). 4. Create the first best practice recommendations for trusted digital repositories to optimise archaeological data for (re)use. 5. Measure the qualitative effectiveness of optimising archaeological data for (re)use for the first time, using the ISO Standard 25022: Measurement of Quality in Use. 6. Create recommendations for archaeological researchers, for memory institutions and creative practitioners, for how this new knowledge might be incorporated into existing workflows. To accomplish these objectives we will follow an iterative, participatory and holistic methodology, focused on three scales of data collection in archaeology - landscape, site and artefact - and exploring them using four increasingly ubiquitous technologies for data capture: airborne LiDAR, 3D scanning, digital field drawing and photography. TEtrARCHs brings a world-leading interdisciplinary team of archaeological specialists, data scientists, museum practitioners, and digital archivists together with creative practitioners, memory institutions and their diverse audiences to implement the project plan (see Section 3 for outputs, key user communities, and impact indicators): WP1: Project Management and Communication (MOLA) WP2: User Needs Analysis (MOLA + all partners and Cooperation Partners) WP3: Data Mapping Strategy (University of Antwerp and University of Ghent + MOLA) WP4: Data Capture Strategy (University of York + Lund University, Slovenian Academy) WP5: Field Experimentation (Lund + University of York, Slovenian Academy) WP6: Repository Experimentation (University of York + Vilnius University and Cooperation Partners) WP7: Quality in Use Analysis (Vilnius University + University of York) WP8: Recommendations for Storytelling (MOLA + all partners and Cooperation Partners) TEtrARCHs has a wide range of Cooperating Partners (CPs) to expand the scope, expertise and impact of the project, and we will recruit key subcontractors to ensure the objectives are fully realised for archaeological researchers, memory institutions, and creative practitioners as the key user groups. The SEADDA COST Action CP will provide support and feedback for archaeological researchers, and memory institutions will be represented by CPs: Museum of London, Museum Leuven, Museum of Cultural History, Oslo and ModeMuseum Antwerpen. Creative practitioners will be recruited via two Digital Residencies (see Section 3), and will work with TEtrARCHs to co-create and assess the storytelling potential of the optimised data. Support and feedback will be provided to understand and address the needs of creative practitioners by the XR Stories Creative Industries Clusters R&D Partnership CP at the University of York. CLARIAH-VL at the Ghent Centre for Digital Humanities CP will also provide support for the data mapping strategy. 3. Impact What is the value of TEtrARCHs to stakeholders? Concerns about the (re)useability, representativeness and potential injustices in data curation methods and infrastructures are longstanding--recognised not just by domain specialists but by broad publics with varying needs (Brownlee-Chapman et al. 2018). Creative practitioners highlight the importance of digital repositories for their storytelling practices, yet they also note a lack of associated ‘symbolic’ metadata to enable such storytelling (Sauer 2017). The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated this predicament in the push for memory institutions to provide online resources for use during successive lockdowns, thereby risking continued marginalisation of vulnerable or underserved populations (Samaroudi et al. 2020). Accordingly, TEtrARCHs seeks to effect measurable change in data practices across three European communities: specialists (archaeologists, heritage experts, data stewards), creative practitioners (artists, journalists, filmmakers, craftspeople, designers), and memory institutions (museums, galleries, heritage sites) and their constituents. To do so, and to ensure meaningful KE, they will be embedded from the outset in co-creating outputs. For domain specialists, we will develop the first controlled vocabulary/thesaurus for cultural heritage storytelling, created as Linked Open Data and archived through the ADS (York). We will author the first 3 TEtrARCHs Transforming data rE-use in ARCHaeology best practice re-use recommendations to create and assess the storytelling potential of the optimised data for trusted digital repositories with the publication of a new ADS Guide to Good Practice (Guides to Good Practice 2021). We will design and publish the first digital workflows for storytelling-based data re-use. These outputs will be developed in consultation with, then disseminated through, CPs CLARIAH-VL and SEADDA. Impact indicators: dissemination to SEADDA’s 120 researchers in 32 countries; unsolicited requests from unaffiliated domain specialists seeking to access and use outputs. For memory institutions, to accompany the thesaurus we will produce three CC BY licensed user guides to support its application and ongoing development by (1) in-house IT specialists, (2) staff curators, (3) affiliated external groups (e.g., Museum of London’s Teachers’ Network). These guides will be co-designed with and disseminated via our memory institution CPs and CLARIAH-VL. Impact indicators: evidence of use by institutions or their constituents in informed decision making or future programme design; distribution of guides to at least one institution in the EU’s 27 member countries. For creative practitioners, we will fund a minimum of two Digital Residencies and develop a web-based interface to scenario-test the enhanced data. Via the residences, creatives will use the web interface to undertake original research, resulting in new narrative outputs that can be digitally circulated to their target audiences. The residents will author reflections on their design experiences for dissemination in an industry publication relevant to their speciality. Lessons learned from rapid assessment of these scenario tests and the residents’ published reflections will be fed into the final outputs for domain experts and memory institutions. Impact indicators: digital residency advertisement read by unique users in each EU member country & the UK; residency outputs lead to queries or follow-ups from new, unique users (e.g., news stories, blog responses, requests to test interface); residents and other users report positive learning and developmental outcomes from use of the interface or interactions with resulting narratives. Complementing these outputs, for the scientific community we will publish 3 gold open access, peer-reviewed publications: (1) a critical analysis of the thesaurus’ development and use; (2) a critical review of the Measurement of Quality in Use research and resulting data workflow recommendations; (3) appraisal of efficacy of the user needs assessment that forms the starting point for TEtrARCHs (WP2). All outputs will be archived by the ADS, according to FAIR principles, with CC BY licenses. To develop and assess the impacts of this work, a mix of quantitative and qualitative data will be gathered via ethnographic and human-centred design techniques: observations of participants’ interactions with TEtrARCHs workflows, outputs and co-design events; analysis of materials produced by participants during these interactions (e.g., drawings, storyboards); interviews and focus groups with participants in person or online; questionnaires or comment cards delivered by hand or online; and automatic acquisition or the manual introduction of participant data through use of the web interface. A communications plan will be developed at the start of TEtrARCHs to ensure engagement of our 3 user communities and wide circulation of outputs listed above. An Editorial Board comprising PIs and 3-4 CPs will oversee the work. A project website monitored by Google Analytics will allow measurement of reach. 4. Implementation Project Leader and PI for the UK: Dr Sara Perry (female), is Director of Research and Engagement at MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology), where she oversees a team of 85 staff. Prior to MOLA, she was Senior Lecturer in Cultural Heritage at the University of York and a key partner or lead in a range of international and UK-based research projects. Dr Perry has an established record of high level fiscal and organisational experience, and access to a team of management and communication staff to ensure the smooth running of the project. The University of York brings complementary experience and research excellence. Dr Colleen Morgan (female) is Lecturer in Digital Archaeology and will contribute expertise in archaeology and creativity, both in the field and during post-excavation. Dr James Taylor (male) was field supervisor for the excavations at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Çatalhöyük before becoming Lecturer at York. Dr Taylor has studied digital field recording and will direct the fieldwork experimentation for TEtrARCHs. Dr Holly Wright (female) is International Projects Manager for the Archaeology Data 4 TEtrARCHs Transforming data rE-use in ARCHaeology Service (ADS), based at the University of York. ADS is the world leader in best practice development for archiving archaeological data. Dr Wright will oversee the evaluation of the experimental workflows developed in TEtrARCHs against established workflows for digital preservation. PI Slovenia: Dr Edisa Lozić (female) at the Research Centre for the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts will be PI for Slovenia, contributing key expertise in landscape-level remote sensing, particularly with LiDAR. Dr Lozić will be supported by Dr Benjamin Štular (male). PI Sweden: Dr Nicoló Dell’Unto (male) is Associate Professor in Archaeology and Scientific Coordinator for the Lund University Digital Archaeology Laboratory. He is a pioneer in 3D documentation and visualisation of archaeological sites and will direct 3D recording in the field and expand visual interaction to support storytelling with subcontractor CNR ISTI (Pisa). He will also create an ECR opportunity. PI Belgium: Dr Hélène Verreyke (female) is Professor of Heritage Studies at the University of Antwerp, specialising in communicating the value of heritage for society. She will oversee the creation of the new thesaurus optimised for narrative re-use, supported by Dr. Piraye Hacıgüzeller, Assistant Professor of Digital Heritage and Metadata at the University of Antwerp, and Dr Christophe Verbruggen, Director of Ghent Centre for Digital Humanities. PI: Lithuania: Dr Rimvydas Laužikas (male) is Professor of Digital Social Science at Vilnius University. He is expert in the communication of cultural heritage, 3D and AI technologies, and the social impact of cultural processes. He will oversee ISO-mapped evaluation of experimentation with digital field methods. TEtrARCHs represents a female-led, but gender balanced consortium. It includes partners with experience across many collaborative European projects, while surfacing and supporting ECRs. Providing opportunities for post and pre-doctoral researchers has been prioritised in the TEtrARCHs budget, with less than 25% of researcher costs going to senior staff. Partners span Western (UK, Belgium and Sweden) and Eastern (Slovenia and Lithuania) Europe. The TEtrARCHs consortium is highly complementary, with established partners representing the best practitioners in their fields, and new partners bringing critical expertise and perspectives from outside of archaeology. 5. References Bonacchi, C, Krzyzanska, M. 2021. Heritage-Based Tribalism in Big Data Ecologies: Deploying Origin Myths for Antagonistic Othering. Big Data & Society 8(1):20539517211003310. Brownlee-Chapman, C. et al. 2018. Between Speaking out in Public and Being Person-Centred. International Journal of Heritage Studies 24(8):889–903. Canning, E. 2018. Documenting Object Experiences in the Art Museum with CIDOC-CRM. In CIDOC 2018: http://www.cidoc2018.com/sites/default/files/CIDOC2018_paper_141_0.pdf. Costanza-Chock, S. 2020. Design Justice: Community-Led Practices to Build the Worlds We Need. MIT. Dolcetti, F. et al. 2021. Values-Led Design Cards. Sustainability 13:3659. Farnel, S. 2018. Metadata as Data. In Proceedings of the Annual Conference of CAIS 2018: https://doi.org/10.29173/cais974. Guides to Good Practice. 2021. https://guides.archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/g2gpwiki/. Krmpotich, C., Somerville, A. 2016. Affective Presence. Museum Anthropology 39(2):178-91. Manzo, C. et al. 2015. “By the People, For the People". DHQ 9(1):204. Perry, S. 2019. Enchantment of the Archaeological Record. European J of Archaeology 22(3): 354-371. Pringle, E. 2020. Provisional Semantics. AHRC: Towards a National Collection, Interim Report: https://www.nationalcollection.org.uk/sites/default/files/2021-01/Provisional%20Semantics.pdf. Samaroudi, M. et al. 2020. Heritage in Lockdown: Digital Provision of Memory Institutions in the UK and USA during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Museum Management and Curatorship 35(4):337-61. Sanderson, R., Clemens, A. 2020. Libraries, Archives and Museums are not Neutral: Working Toward Eliminating Systemic Bias and Racism in Cultural Heritage Information Systems. In EUROMED: https://www.digitalmeetsculture.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Euromed2020_BOOKLET-1.pdf. Sauer, S. 2017. Audiovisual Narrative Creation and Creative Retrieval: How Searching for a Story Shapes the Story. Journal of Science and Technology of the Arts 9(2):37-46. Srinivasan, R. Whose Global Village? Rethinking How Technology Shapes Our World. NYU Press. Whitelaw, M. 2015. Generous Interfaces for Digital Cultural Collections. DHQ 9(1):205. Wilkinson, M.D. et al. 2016. The FAIR Guiding Principles for Scientific Data Management and Stewardship. Scientific Data 3 (March):160018. 5