Articles by Paola Pascucci

In 1999 the Museum Service of the Lazio Region, together with the firm Andromeda, set up a database for the archaeological finds in the municipal museums in the region. The project, called IDRA, was created for the purpose of locating and quantifying the archaeological material in each museum. Designed as a client/server system with an SQL engine, IDRA software combines the philosophy of relational databases with object-oriented structures, where the information is organized hierarchically. At this time the database consists of around 17,000 files - provided with digital images and referring to 50 different museums - that are now available on the Culture Portal of the Lazio Region (http://www.culturalazio.it/site/it-IT/Argomenti/Banche_dati_online/). A tentative model used to locate both museums and finding sites through Google Maps has also been made. On the basis of specific agreements with the Ministry of Culture and the Municipality of Rome a project was initiated for a shared consultation of databases pertinent to different authorities as well as for a common investigation about structured terminology lists. To this aim we have conducted a standardization of terminology related to the entry “Object Definition”, and developed a list of about 500 terms. In the present article we have focused on some of the issues that emerged during our work in order to submit them to public discussion. We deal, for instance, with how to define the state of preservation of the object in relation to its definition; whether and how to use diminutives; how to structure the categories of material so as to define the finds for optimal searching; and how to file objects reused at a later period.

In 1998 the Museums Service of the Lazio Region began a project to set up a database for the archaeological finds ('RA' files) preserved in the museums of this area. The intention was to provide a simple means for locating and quantifying the finds preserved in each museum for the use of museum directors, regional offices and any external users. A management software programme - IDRA, developed by the firm Andromeda - was chosen with this in mind. Data structuring and normalisation methods to reach the necessary level of standardisation were defined during a series of meetings between archaeologists. These meetings produced a proposal for regulations in addition to those drawn up by ICCD in 1992, also including a section devoted to faunal remains from archaeological sites. The software was configured, with suitable adaptation and integration, on the basis of the specific requirements that emerged during the work. It was also designed to combine scientific correctness, data normalisation and compliance with national cataloguing rules, as well as being a functional and easy-to-use application. IDRA is designed as a client/server system with an SQL engine. As regards the database organisation, the system combines the philosophy of relational databases with object-oriented structures, in which the information is organised hierarchically. This enables data to be associated logically and permits the description of complex structures, such as those relative to the archaeological objects in question. Since it was felt that the use of a 'stand-alone' software would render much of the efforts towards the normalisation and definition of terminology lists useless, a databank sharing system will be introduced, with centralised 'management' in regional offices and diverse access levels for users. Today the database consists of about 10,000 files for 27 museums, soon to be completed with the relevant digital images. An assessment of this initial stage is currently a priority, also by means of comparison with other databases for a more accurate and selective compilation of terminology lists, while another priority is the experimentation of network connections for database sharing with each individual museum.