The Archaeotools project: faceted classification and natural language processing in an archaeological context

TY - JOUR

T1 - The Archaeotools project

T2 - faceted classification and natural language processing in an archaeological context

AU - Jeffrey, S.

AU - Richards, J.

AU - Ciravegna, F.

AU - Waller, S.

AU - Chapman, S.

AU - Zhang, Z.

N1 - One contribution of 16 to a Theme Issue ‘Crossing boundaries: computational science, e-Science and global e-Infrastructure I. Selected papers from the UK e-Science All Hands Meeting 2008’.

PY - 2009/6/28

Y1 - 2009/6/28

N2 - This paper describes 'Archaeotools', a major e-Science project in archaeology. The aim of the project is to use faceted classification and natural language processing to create an advanced infrastructure for archaeological research. The project aims to integrate over 1 x 10(6) structured database records referring to archaeological sites and monuments in the UK, with information extracted from semi-structured grey literature reports, and unstructured antiquarian journal accounts, in a single faceted browser interface. The project has illuminated the variable level of vocabulary control and standardization that currently exists within national and local monument inventories. Nonetheless, it has demonstrated that the relatively well-defined ontologies and thesauri that exist in archaeology mean that a high level of success can be achieved using information extraction techniques. This has great potential for unlocking and making accessible the information held in grey literature and antiquarian accounts, and has lessons for allied disciplines.

AB - This paper describes 'Archaeotools', a major e-Science project in archaeology. The aim of the project is to use faceted classification and natural language processing to create an advanced infrastructure for archaeological research. The project aims to integrate over 1 x 10(6) structured database records referring to archaeological sites and monuments in the UK, with information extracted from semi-structured grey literature reports, and unstructured antiquarian journal accounts, in a single faceted browser interface. The project has illuminated the variable level of vocabulary control and standardization that currently exists within national and local monument inventories. Nonetheless, it has demonstrated that the relatively well-defined ontologies and thesauri that exist in archaeology mean that a high level of success can be achieved using information extraction techniques. This has great potential for unlocking and making accessible the information held in grey literature and antiquarian accounts, and has lessons for allied disciplines.

KW - archaeology

KW - grey literature

KW - faceted classification

KW - information extraction

KW - natural language processing

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=67650287080&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1098/rsta.2009.0038

DO - 10.1098/rsta.2009.0038

M3 - Article

SN - 1364-503X

VL - 367

SP - 2507

EP - 2519

JO - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences

JF - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences

IS - 1897

ER -