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Research Data Management at the Istanbul Department of the German Archaeological Institute

Mareke Johanne Ubben (German Archaelogical Institute)
Lee Clare (German Archaelogical Institute)
Onur Şefer Özbalaban (German Archaelogical Institute)

Friday, 6 October 2023 | 4:30 – 5:00 pm

Abstract

The research area of the Istanbul Department of the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) is modern Turkey. As different as Turkey’s landscapes are, so are its projects and their demands on the department’s IT and research data management (RDM). Data-generating projects of the Istanbul department are primarily the international research platforms Göbekli Tepe, Ḫattuša-Boğazköy and Pergamon-Bergama. An important aim of the excavation
projects in the field of RDM is to follow the FAIR principle as well as to integrate the data into the structures of the iDAI.world of the DAI and to make them accessible to the public. The DAI’s own IT research data infrastructure,
like the database iDAI.field, is used to record the research data. In addition to the collection and processing of new data, the migration of existing databases into iDAI.field is also a task within the framework of the RDM.

Furthermore, free software, like QGIS, is also used in the projects. A major benefit of the iDAI.field and QGIS software systems is their compatibility. Through attribute tables in QGIS that are adapted to the data sets of iDAI.field, it is possible to link these two systems with each other. In this way, GIS data can be transferred to the database daily during the excavation phases. This has the advantage of data backup, as iDAI.field creates an immediate backup with the main server in Berlin, so excavation data is digitally backed up daily.

In addition to using QGIS for the excavation documentation, it is also used to merge new and old excavation findings. Already published stone plans from earlier excavations with old coordinate systems will be georeferenced and integrated into the current coordinate systems. The merging of the old and new excavation findings in QGIS has the following aims in addition to data collection/use: Representation of digital epoch layers and the use of old
excavation findings digitally/online. Old drawings that are available in analogue form will also be integrated into the GIS so that visualisation options like view shed analysis can be used and new questions can be opened up.

The aim of the paper is to demonstrate parts of the research data management and the use of digital methods within the projects of the Istanbul Department of the German Archaeological Institute.