Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

21st Century Geospatial #HistEnv Data ManagementPaul CrippsUniversity of South Wales, Trefforest, UK• Hypermedia Research Unit• Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Research UnitArchaeogeomancy, Salisbury, UK

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

Introduction

• Background• Resources• Problems• Potential• Strategy• Issues

Earthorama by spdorsey http://flic.kr/p/69C5QD

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

Background: GSTAR

• GeoSemantic Technologies for Archaeological Resources• Aims & Objectives:• To incorporate complex geospatial information into our

ontological models of heritage data• Vector depictions: lines, polygons• Place & Location: points

• Investigate advances in geospatial and geosemantic approaches

• Application of geosemantics and Linked Geospatial Data approaches to archaeological resources• Integration of heterogeneous resources via spatial components of

heritage data• Application of research questions across diverse heritage

resources

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

Linked Geospatial Data; integrate

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

Spatial entities• Vector objects used in database

environments• Transcriptions • Aerial Photos• Historic maps & plans

• Survey data• Geophysics & Remote Sensing• Landscape survey

• Sites and Monuments• Land classifications• Designations

• Events and Activities• Interventions• Surveys

• Excavated features• Metadata: Scale, Resolution,

Precision, Accuracy, Source

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

Interpretation of excavation data using project GISWessex Archaeology

Spatial component used to aid interpretation through mapping and spatial analysis

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

Stonehenge & Avebury World Heritage Site GISEnglish Heritage

Wiltshire HER derived data plus aerial imagery

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

Colonisation of Britain Linked DataWessex Archaeology, Archaeology Data Service

Linked Data resource built using STELLAR Toolkit including Ordnance Survey Open Data

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

Resources: Local• Historic Environment Records (HERs)• Typically within Local Authorities

• MIDAS compliant structures• Monuments• Events• Sources

• Many now use GIS of some type• Not all…• Points, lines, polygons

• Spatial and Temporal Scale & Resolution• Variable • Primarily to support NPPF

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

Resources: National• AMIE – archaeological sites and monuments• National record maintained by English Heritage

• National Heritage List for England (NHLE)• National record maintained by English Heritage• Designated sites only • Legally protected• Scheduling: Area based land classification• Listing: ‘point’ location of buildings

• Scotland• RCAHMS, CANMORE

• Wales• Welsh Trusts HER, RCAHMW, Archwilio

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

Resources: Other• Planning Authorities• National Parks• Tiers of government, shared

services

• Outsourced services• Commercial companies• Heritage trusts

• Infrastructure systems• OASIS, Heritage Gateway

• Heritage and other organisations• National Trust• Churches• Defra• PAS

• Subject specific resources• Geophysics database (English

Heritage, ADS)• Project archives (Archaeology

Data Service, English Heritage)

• Britain from Above (EH, RCAHMW, RCAHMS)

• Synthesis• AIP

• Publications• Grey Literature• Monographs• Research Frameworks

• Museum collections• Disparate ‘digital’ ‘archives’

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

Current problems• Lots of geospatial

information!• Duplication of data• Overlaps• Conflicts, versions• Concordance• Gaps

• Costly to maintain• Exchange/Transfer• Export Publish Import

paradigm…• Formats & Systems;

interoperability• Non-digital• Software

• Difficult to use• Quality• Access• Licensing• Costs

• Spatial data as text• County, Parish indices• Coordinate precision• Quality/Currency of spatial

indices

• ‘Archives’• Dead trees vs live data• Retention & Disposal

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

Current problems

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

Some possibilities…Working with geospatial data

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

Inferencing and (spatial) Indexing

Build indices using spatial inferencing across resources

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

Enhance/Enrich• Possible to augment resources• Inferencing• Reconciliation

• Open Refine• Toolkit for working with ‘messy data’• http://openrefine.org/

• Ordnance Survey reconciliation API• http://data.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/docs/reconciliation• Turns text (eg Parish, County) OS Open Data URIs

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

Enhanced spatial search

Mediate queries using spatial semantics

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

Aggregation

Each team maintain data and leverage technology to share effectivelyNational overview as snapshot/dynamic/versioned aggregation

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

Potential• Aligned resources• Requirement: Persistent Identifiers• Linked Data not data

exchange/copying

• Aggregation not duplication• Focus resources• Share efforts• Share data• Shared infrastructure

• Better resource discovery, access and retrieval• Improved search; mediation• This search boundary• My search boundary• HTML, KML, (geo)JSON, WKT, etc

• True spatial indices• Inferencing

• Leverage standards for interoperability:• World Wide Web Consortium

(W3C)• Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC)• MIDAS, CIDOC, Spectrum, etc• Inspire

• Build on good bits of existing infrastructure• ADS archives• Heritage Gateway• Oasis (principals…)• NHLE• HBSMR

• Local maintenance• Expertise• HERs as spine

Make more of limited resources

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

#HistEnv Spatial Data strategy

Who…?• Curatorial• Local, National

• Planning• Local, National

• Legal• Professional • Contractors• Consultants

• Academic• Public

Focus on:• User needs• Responsibilities• Resources• Skills• Funding• Deadlines & Drivers• Division of labour• Share the load

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

#HistEnv Spatial Data strategy

“We form like Voltron…”Wu-Tang Clan

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

#HistEnv Spatial Data strategy• The Scottish experience• SHED• Scotland’s Historic Environment Data strategy• “This joint venture between local and national bodies comprises

shared and linked digital records. It will be professionally managed, continually updated, and accessible to all, ensuring the greatest economic, social and cultural benefits for the people of Scotland and beyond.”

• “There can be only one…” – Highlander• Or not: Single definitive resource ruled out• Opting for distributed, linked approach

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

Potential issues; infrastructure• Dependency on host• Procurement policy• Vendor lock in• Support

• Not which GIS software…• …but which standards• Compliance is key• Government

procurement is moving this way

• FOSS vs COTS• License costs vs

development costs• Total Cost of Ownership• Cost Benefit Analysis• User Needs• Understanding &

awareness• No LAMP here

• Massive potential for geospatial heritage data…

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

Conclusions• Make better use of digital spatial resources• Efficiency• Linking, sharing, collaborating• Technology, infrastructure, skills, users

• Direct resources to content creation/enhancement• Standards• Industry• Heritage• Collaborative, workable, usable

• Standards again

Towards a Collaborative Strategy for sector information management (TACOS), York, May 2014

fin

• paul.cripps@southwales.ac.uk• paul@archaeogeomancy.net•@pauljcripps

• gstar.archaeogeomancy.net• hypermedia.research.southwales.ac.uk• gis.research.southwales.ac.uk