ArchAIDE @ Understanding Europe, Brussels 17 October 2016

Gabriele GattigliaMaria Letizia Gualandi

Università di Pisa

Brussels, 17 October 2018 | Understanding Europe – Promoting the

European Public anc Cultural Space

An EC H2020 project

Call Reflective 6, RIA (Research and Innovation Action)

Duration: 36 months

Project Started on June 1st, 2016 and end on May 31st 2019

ArchAIDEArchaeological Automatic Interpretation and Documentation of cEramicsPartners

University of Pisa (coordinator)Dipartimento di Civiltà e forme del sapereCNR –Istituto di Scienza e Tecnologie dell’Informazione INERA srl

University of BarcelonaFac. de Prehistòria, Història Antiga i ArquelogiaBARAKAELEMENTS

University of YorkArchaeology Data Service University of Cologne

Institut für Archäologie

University of Tel AvivSchool of Computer Science

Archaeologists, mathematicians and ICT scientists are involved in the project

ArchAIDEArchaeological Automatic Interpretation and Documentation of cEramics

ArchAIDE aims to support the classification and interpretation work of the archaeologists with innovative computer-based tools, able to provide the user with features for matching of each discovered sherd over the huge existing ceramic catalogues.

Goals

from to


https://www.flickr.com/photos/debord/4932655275

Why?




The vast majority of the finds that come back to light during the archaeological excavations are fragments of pottery …


Pottery breaks, but does not deteriorate until disappearing as wood, textiles, food, parchment, papyrus …

Even when reduced to small fragments, the pottery is an extraordinary windowopen on the life of the peoples of the past. It allows to- date the archaeological contexts;- understand the dynamics of production and trade flows; - understand the social interactions.


From the Neolithic, pottery was used in a number of daily activities:

for eating and drinking

for cooking

for storing

for enlightening

for transporting


Dozens of potsherds for a few m2 of excavated surface ...It is reasonable to estimate that 80 or 90% of the time and energy of an archaeologist it is spent in the classification of excavation finds.


• complex skills and since it is heavily dependent on human inspection and interpretation it is a very time consuming activity;

• a boundless bibliography, fragmented and incoherent, whose consultation is long and fatiguing also when is available a well furnished library …

Unfortunately, classification requires:


Analysis of sherds:(a) the identification of the ceramic class, the specialist looks at:• surface treatment,• the decoration• the fabric(b) identification of the form type:• looks into the ceramic class paper

catalogues for the specific form; • analyses the section of the potsherd

and its profile;• makes a comparison with the published

vessels (hundreds of pages and drawings)


In brief:

• Interpretation of findings (usually pottery sherds) is of paramount importance for the interpretation of the excavation results, identification of the layers and to take further decisions on the excavation progress and directions

• To be effective, as early this phase is solved, the better

• Vast knowledge and experience is required (but often practical excavations are performed by young personnel)

• Nowadays study and interpretation of sherds is mostly performed in a remote location, where the archaeologist is not able to consult heavy and complex catalogues of ceramics artifacts


We want to innovate the archaeological practice, introducing a modern computer-aided approach

but we want to keep as much as possible unchanged the overall methodology, to ensure easy adaptation and impact in the archaeology domain.

“Change everything to maintain the tradition”[Tomasi di Lampedusa, “Il Gattopardo”]

revolutionise


ArchAIDE platform• The ArchAIDE System is designed mainly for a

mobile use (recognition, quantification, raw data entry in an archive) with some specific functionalities designed for a computer desktop environment

• Interpretation based on reconstruction (from photos) of the 2D profile and shape matching, with an app for tablets

• All data gathered is immediately stored on an archive (ADS-compliant)

Documentation gathering is started from the very initial phases, as an incremental process

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SeARCH

How?


The pipeline


1. an as-automatic-as-possible procedure to transform the paper catalogues in a digital description, to be used as a data pool for an accurate search and retrieval process.

Outcomes


2. a tool that will support archaeologists in recognising and classifying potsherds, through an easy-to-use interface and efficient algorithms for characterization, search and retrieval of the visual/geometrical correspondences;

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SeARCH

1210-1280

Table warePisaFlatBasinGeometric decoration

Maiolica arcaica

G., Berti, 1997 La maiolica Arcaia Pisana


3. an automatic procedure to derive the potsherd’s description by transforming the data collected into a formatted electronic document, printable or visual


4. a web-based real-time data visualization to improve access to archaeological heritage and generate new understanding


5. Open data and reuse

ArchAIDE partecipates at the Open Research Data Pilot. The data created will be preserved and disseminated online, and made freely available for use and re-use.


Structural components:

• Digitize the corpus of catalogues• Digitize paper catalogues, detect text and images, link

them semantically• Convert profile images from raster to vectorial format

(adequate for subsequent shape–based search&retrieval)

• Design the overall data archive:• Digitized catalouge corpus• Documentation of archeo campaigns

• Design the ArchAIDE app (mobile platform)

Research


• Research on algorithms:• Focus on technologies for the digitization of paper catalogues, to

convert paper document in digital format (solving problems as digitization, OCR, detection of figures) and how to enable the semi-automatic conversion of raster drawings into a geometric 2D description of each ceramic class (based on drawings and profiles)

• Construction of sherds profiles from a few images: not an easy task, the profile is never completely visible in a single image, how to produce it (without building a 3D model)?

• Efficient and robust algorithms and data structure for supporting the search by similarity of a fragments description with respect to the database of profiles recollected from catalogues

• Validate on the field (SMEs)


The digital automation of pottery classification:

- would revolutionise archaeological practice, behaviours and expectations, - would meet real user needs and generate economic benefit,

reducing time and costs,- would create societal benefits from cultural heritage, improving access and exploitation of the digital cultural heritage in a sustainable way, - would afford a deeper knowledge of the context in which cultural heritage exists and is formed.

Conclusions


• We have just started, keep posted on our progress:

https://www.facebook.com/archaideproject/

ArchAIDE web site will be opened very soon

(end of November)





Contact:Gabriele GattigliaUniversity of Pisa – MAPPA Lab [email protected]

ArchAIDE @ Understanding Europe, Brussels 17 October 2016

Presentations & Public Speaking

Transcript of ArchAIDE @ Understanding Europe, Brussels 17 October 2016