Evaluating a Cooperative Approach to the Management of Digital Archaeological Records

The Department of Defense (DoD) needs efficient access to data from past archaeological investigations at its installations in order to avoid sudden, unpredicted site discoveries that delay mission-oriented activities, programs, and projects. The ECAMDAR project is a test case designed to evaluate whether and how an online repository for digital archaeological and cultural resource management (CRM) data and information developed and managed by the Center for Digital Antiquity (Digital Antiquity) can fulfill this need. Digital Antiquity’s online repository is tDAR (the Digital Archaeological Record).
With funding from Defense Legacy, digital files from archaeological projects at 23 DoD installations in Maryland and Virginia have been uploaded to tDAR, which is accessible through the tDAR website via the internet. This study finds that through tDAR, Digital Antiquity is able to ensure long-term preservation and accessibility of digital archaeological records while maintaining security by enabling DoD CRM officials to control and limit access to sensitive files. As files were uploaded for this project, DA-tDAR worked with physical archaeological collections repositories to develop procedures that address the backlog of digital files that are held locally at the repositories, but not currently in a viable long-term digital archive. These procedures may be applied to other DoD installations with pre-existing digital records. It is also important for current and new archaeological projects that the digital files created are placed in a digital archaeological data repository so that no further backlog of digital data develops. We suggest tDAR for this purpose.
This project demonstrates that it is more cost effective for the DoD to pay one-time fees for uploading of digital files to Digital Antiquity than it would be for the DoD to establish and maintain individual specialized departments or staff for the management of digital archaeological data at the installation or regional level. Finally, this study finds that the DoD should consider partnership with Digital Antiquity for the preservation and management of digital files generated by current and future archaeological projects.

美国国防部（Department of Defense，DoD）需要高效获取其辖内设施过往考古调查的相关数据，以避免因突发、未预见到的遗址发现而延误以任务为导向的活动、计划与项目。ECAMDAR项目作为测试案例，旨在评估由数字古物中心（Center for Digital Antiquity，Digital Antiquity）开发并管理的数字考古与文化资源管理（Cultural Resource Management，CRM）数据信息在线库，能否以及如何满足上述需求。数字古物中心的在线库即tDAR（数字考古记录，Digital Archaeological Record）。
依托国防遗产（Defense Legacy）项目的资助，马里兰州与弗吉尼亚州境内23处国防部设施的考古项目数字档案已上传至tDAR，用户可通过互联网访问tDAR官网获取相关资源。本研究发现，通过tDAR，数字古物中心能够保障数字考古记录的长期保存与可访问性，同时允许国防部CRM管理人员管控、限制敏感文件的访问权限，以此保障数据安全。在本项目的文件上传过程中，数字古物中心-tDAR（DA-tDAR）与实体考古藏品库合作，制定了针对积压数字文件的处理流程：此类文件目前留存于各本地藏品库，但尚未纳入可靠的长期数字档案。此类流程可推广至其他已存有数字记录的国防部设施。此外，对于当前及新建的考古项目而言，将生成的数字文件存入数字考古数据仓库，可避免进一步形成数字数据积压，这一点至关重要。我们推荐采用tDAR作为此类存储方案。
本项目证明，相较于国防部在各设施或区域层面设立并维护专门部门或人员来管理数字考古数据，向数字古物中心一次性支付文件上传费用的成本更为低廉。最后，本研究得出结论：国防部应考虑与数字古物中心展开合作，以保存和管理当前及未来考古项目产生的数字文件。