The Archaeological Information System of the Czech Republic – The Big Solution for Big Data

Zdenka KOSAROVÁ | Martin KUNA | Olga LEČBYCHOVÁ | David NOVÁK
(Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno and Prague, Brno, Prague, Czech Rebublic)

Keywords: Research Infrastructure, Open Access, Big Data

Abstract:
A high-quality, linked and easily accessible information for professionals and the wider public is central to driving development in the field of archaeology, protecting our archaeological heritage and promoting public relations.
The Archaeological Information System of the Czech Republic (AIS CR) is an infrastructure designed to integrate digital resources on Czech archaeology. Its main aim is to apply the information system of the Archaeological Map of the Czech Republic (AMCR) in practice, to enhance it and to link it to other data sources. In addition to the AMCR, other resources that fall under the AIS CR remit include the Digital Archive of the AMCR, the Archaeological Atlas of the CR, Archaeology Online, and Prague – The City of Archaeology.
The AIS CR is tasked with three main challenges: (1) to oversee the daily data management of all archaeological activities, (2) to support research and development and (3) to promote the archaeological heritage of the country. To meet these challenges, the AIS CR has committed itself to (1) providing appropriate well-designed tools and (2) sharing data in an accessible way.
Building a high-quality research infrastructure has long been one of the central tasks of the Institutes of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences. After an intensive period of building experience and performing a number of experiments and pilot studies, the institutes are now equipped with the necessary tools and resources to oversee the management and development of an archaeology infrastructure for the Czech Republic. The all-new, modern version of the AIS CR is the result of an intensive period of work and collaboration within the archaeological research community.
And now after a full year in operation, the opportunity has come to evaluate the performance of the system for the first time.