'Project Radiocarbon' - Big Data, integrated cross-national heritage histories

“放射性碳计划”——大数据，整合跨国遗产历史

• 批准号: AH/W001942/1
• 负责人: Seren Griffiths
• 金额: $ 34.4万
• 依托单位: Manchester Metropolitan University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FW001942%2F1
• 关键词: Project; Radiocarbon; Big; Data; integrated

The development of the radiocarbon (14C) dating technique represents one of the most significant events in the history of archaeological thought; with this innovative method archaeology really started again in the 1950s. Identifying when things happened in time (as well as where things happened in space) is central to the archaeological endeavour. Since the 1950s millions of pounds/euro have been spent in Ireland and the UK producing 14C measurements in order to undertake archaeological research. These measurements have been funded by government heritage agencies, by academic researchers, by archaeologists in professional practice, by local societies, and by research agencies including the IRC and the AHRC. The numbers of these data have significantly increased in the UK with changes in central planning policy, from Planning Policy Guidance 16 onwards and with the development of professional archaeological practice as part of the construction industry. In the Republic of Ireland, the construction boom associated with the 'Celtic Tiger' economy had a similar impact on the scale of the production of 14C data. The rapid expansion in the numbers of 14C data also underlines how central they are to all forms of archaeology, produced from every type of archaeological site, from the whole 60,000 years of human history when the technique can be used. However, 14C data can only be used effectively in subsequent research if they are correctly reported (Bayliss 2015; Millard 2014); because of a lack of training across the sector essential data attributes are often not reported or made publuc by researchers. If these attributes are lost or removed from radiocarbon measurements their utility becomes compromised and their value lessened.Ironically, given the importance of these data, there has been a global failure to curate them effectively. Across the UK and Ireland, there is no single functioning 14C archive. Because of this, millions of euros/pounds of data are being made rogue - with inaccurate, incomplete, or otherwise compromised 14C attributes often present in research literature. Moreover, the absence of international digital archives for these essential data is a significant barrier to research that seeks to work across national historic environment agency jurisdictions. This has major issues globally for archaeological research, and is especially true for Ireland and the UK, where many research objectives exist across borders, with datasets that do not respect the confines of contemporary nation states. Further, reporting standards mean that many existing 14C data are not interoperable with existing historic environment data management systems. The result is that we are impoverishing vast quantities of data of huge value, and that our research into, analyses of, and curation of the historic environment are similarly compromised. This project will address this significant, international problem for all archaeological research periods by transforming available data from across Ireland and the UK, reconstituting the essential attributes, and safeguarding these data for the future. We will use these data to achieve innovative Big Data analyses into the management of the historic environment, and into archaeological research across all periods and regions of the UK and Ireland. Our lasting legacy will be making these data and our analyses discoverable, open access, sustainable and functional for researchers to come, providing a sector-wide training legacy, and developing schools resources to educate the next generation of digital humanities researchers in the historic environment. We are supported in this work by our historic environment partners in national government, and national heritage agencies, and the digital infrastructure provided by the Archaeology Data Service which will secure this invaluable resource for the future.

放射性碳（14C）测年技术的发展是考古思想史上最重要的事件之一；有了这种创新的方法，考古学在20世纪50年代重新开始了。确定事情在时间上发生的时间（以及在空间上发生的地点）是考古工作的核心。自20世纪50年代以来，为了进行考古研究，爱尔兰和英国已经花费了数百万英镑/欧元进行14C测量。这些测量是由政府遗产机构、学术研究人员、从事专业实践的考古学家、当地社会以及包括IRC和AHRC在内的研究机构资助的。在英国，随着中央规划政策的变化，从规划政策指南16开始，随着专业考古实践作为建筑行业的一部分的发展，这些数据的数量显著增加。在爱尔兰共和国，与“凯尔特之虎”经济相关的建筑热潮对14C数据的生产规模产生了类似的影响。14C数据数量的快速增长也突显了它们对所有形式的考古学有多么重要，这些考古数据来自于各种类型的考古遗址，来自于可以使用该技术的整个6万年的人类历史。然而，只有正确报告14C数据，才能在后续研究中有效使用（Bayliss 2015; Millard 2014）；由于整个行业缺乏培训，研究人员通常不会报告或公布基本数据属性。如果这些属性从放射性碳测量中丢失或移除，它们的效用就会受到损害，其价值也会降低。具有讽刺意味的是，考虑到这些数据的重要性，全球未能有效地管理它们。在英国和爱尔兰，没有一个单一的正常运行的14C档案。正因为如此，数百万欧元/英镑的数据被篡改——研究文献中经常出现不准确、不完整或以其他方式受损的14C属性。此外，缺乏这些基本数据的国际数字档案是寻求跨国家历史环境机构管辖范围工作的研究的重大障碍。这对全球考古研究来说是一个重大问题，对爱尔兰和英国来说尤其如此，那里的许多研究目标都是跨越国界的，数据集不尊重当代民族国家的界限。此外，报告标准意味着许多现有的14C数据不能与现有的历史环境数据管理系统互操作。其结果是，我们正在耗尽大量具有巨大价值的数据，而我们对历史环境的研究、分析和管理也同样受到损害。该项目将通过转换来自爱尔兰和英国的可用数据，重构基本属性，并为未来保护这些数据，为所有考古研究时期解决这一重大的国际问题。我们将使用这些数据来实现创新的大数据分析，以管理历史环境，并在英国和爱尔兰的所有时期和地区进行考古研究。我们持久的遗产将是使这些数据和我们的分析对未来的研究人员来说是可发现的、开放的、可持续的和实用的，提供一个全部门的培训遗产，并开发学校资源，在历史环境中教育下一代数字人文研究人员。在这项工作中，我们得到了国家政府和国家遗产机构的历史环境合作伙伴的支持，以及考古数据服务提供的数字基础设施，这些基础设施将为未来保护这一宝贵的资源。

项目成果

Radiocarbon: Big Data & Cross-border Histories

放射性碳：大数据

• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: British Archaeology
• 作者: Griffiths, S.