Archaeology at Aarhus University and Moesgaard Museum part of major HORIZON 2020 digital cultural heritage initiative
On 11-14 February, the ARIADNEplus project was launched, which is the world’s largest digital network and research infrastructure in the fields of archaeology and cultural heritage, officially based in Florence. Aarhus University and Moesgaard Museum have been invited to join the ARIADNE collaboration owing to the strong research environment in digital cultural heritage at Moesgaard.
ARIADNEplus
More than 40 partners primarily from European countries have joined forces to build a digital bridge between the huge amounts of archaeological finds, data and knowledge stored in local or national databases. This will create a unique basis for research work across European borders. Aarhus University (AU) contributes data from the registration portal DIME (Digitale Metaldetektorfund), which has grown into one of the largest crowdsourcing and citizen science projects in archaeology in a short time. The participation in ARIADNEplus involves the entire archaeological environment at Moesgaard – the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, Moesgaard Museum (MOMU) and Archaeological IT – thereby reflecting the unique collaboration between AU and MOMU in this area.
Crowdsourcing and citizen science
AU and MOMU provide ARIADNE with application and research perspectives regarding the inclusion of non-professionals in archaeology. Denmark is known for the efficient collaboration between amateur archaeologists and professional archaeology, not least in relation to metal detection archaeology. In this field, AU and MOMU have made their mark with the launch of the DIME portal, through which metal detectorists can register their finds together with the archaeological museums. The participation in ARIADNE therefore builds on the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies’ research focus on digital crowd sourcing and citizen science in the field of cultural heritage.
“Participation in the ARIADNEplus initiative is something we’ve been working towards for some time, and we’re looking forward to bringing especially our strengths within crowdsourcing and citizen science into play. There are some exciting strategic perspectives in our participation in this international collaboration, and ARIADNE will help us boost our international profile in the field. We have high ambitions in the area of digital cultural heritage, not least in relation to building a research infrastructure in archaeology, which is an area with particular potential for Denmark,” says Andres Dobat, coordinator of AU’s participation in ARIADNEplus.
Facts
- More information about ARIADNEplus
- ARIADNE plus is financed through the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme.
- Project period: 48 months from 1 January 2019.
- More information about the DIME portal
Contact
If you have any questions about the project, please contact project coordinator Andres Dobat (associate professor of archaeology at the School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University), farkado@cas.au.dk, tel. +45 41118689
Contact to other project participants:
- Peter Jensen, Archaeological IT, peter.jensen@cas.au.dk
- Jens-Bjørn Riis Andresen, AU, jens.andresen@cas.au.dk