An open system for textual, visual, and bibliographic resources: the Open Digital Archaeology Hub

Alessandra Caravale, Antonio D'Eredità, Giacomo Mancuso, Paola Moscati

«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2025, 36.1, 455-468; doi: 10.19282/ac.36.1.2025.25

Abstract

The Open Digital Archaeology Hub (ArchaeoHub) is a modular and extensible platform developed within the H2IOSC project to support the aggregation and dissemination of digital archaeological resources. Conceived as a metadata aggregator rather than a repository, it integrates textual, visual, and bibliographic data from diverse sources, including the journal «Archeologia e Calcolatori» the BiDiAr bibliographic platform, and the DHeLO web app. Its structure is based on a hub-and-spoke model, designed to enable thematic collections organised around geographic entities, using Pleiades identifiers and WebGIS technologies to enhance discovery and contextualization. ArchaeoHub promotes interoperability through standards such as RDF, Dublin Core, and JSON-LD, and supports linked data connections with external resources. It offers scholars and institutions a lightweight, FAIR-compliant environment to access and cross-reference data. A key feature is its integration with BiDiAr, a curated bibliography of digital archaeology structured through Zotero, enabling citation tracking and semantic classification. The platform exemplifies a shift from static repositories to dynamic, research-oriented infrastructures aligned with national and international best practices. Positioned within the broader landscape of digital heritage infrastructures, ArchaeoHub serves as both a scholarly resource and a methodological prototype for managing complex00 archaeological information in a collaborative, open-access framework.

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