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AGES

Archaeological Geodata/AGES:

AGES (Archaeological Geodata from Excavations) is providing a FAIR service for geodata from archaeological excavations and is developed by module 3 of Swedigarch. This will facilitate many new research opportunities as data from excavations can be reused for analysis and linked to other Swedigarch resources, where AGES provides the archaeological context.

Currently, data from archaeological excavations can be accessed in GeoPackage (GPKG) format for individual excavation and survey projects. This data represents the original format of the information as delivered to Swedigarch. The only changes made are convering to GPKG format, adjusting coordinate system and adding metadata. As part of the Swedigarch infrastructure, the information from the excavation will also be merged to an aggregated version in the coming years, to enable analysis of the material as a whole. This will also include the addition of identifiers to link to other resources.

There are different ways to access AGES. There is a GPKG with a point index on Zenodo that can be downloaded and used directly in GIS to have an overview and to explore the information. The Zenodo DOI and reference can also be used when referring to AGES generally in publications.

For each project there is information about the excavation and links to reports (when available). The administrative information about the excavation project comes from the National Heritage Board Historical Environment Record (RAÄ KMR). The database from the excavations is downloadable as a GPKG. This can be either directly from the AGES server or, for excavations by the Swedish National Heritage Board, through their e-archive.

For each project, the geodata can be downloaded from the link “Ladda ner geodata” for further analysis in GIS. Some GPKG files originate from Intrasis and these will only work in GIS software that follow the OGS standard for GPKS. To use the data in ArcGIS the databases can be simplified using the QGIS plugin Swedigarch Geotools, available from the QGIS Plugins manager. This plugin also has many functions for analysing the content of Intrasis GPKS files, see information on https://github.com/swedigarch/QGIS-plugin/wiki and a brief tutorial on https://swedigarch.se/index.php/tutorials-help/tutorials

Currently, the AGES server provides data from Stiftelsen Societas Archaeologica Upsaliensis (SAU) and from the Swedish National Heritage Board excavation unit (RAÄ UV). AGES will be continuosly updated with data from other organisations.

If you know of any additional data that you think should be part of AGES, find any errors or have a question, please write to us at swedigarch@uu.se.

In addition to excavation data for AGES, the development of a geodatabase with information about excavated buildings and house structures in Sweden is ongoing, with the ambition to launch a first version in 2025. The database will include information on chronology, type, dimensions, and context of archaeologically investigated houses in Sweden. The creation of this database will be an ongoing endeavour and will be complemented with more data from future excavations.

Module 3 of Swedigarch will maintain a dialogue with partners within Swedish archaeology on best practises for GIS data generated from future excavations, and strive to encourage a sector-wide implementation of FAIR approaches to digital documentation. See the News section for information about upcoming presentations and workshops.