NFDI4Objects - Survey Results on Data Management in Geophysical Prospecting in Archaeology

NFDI4Objects (N4O) is an initiative to establish a multidisciplinary consortium within the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI). The initiative is aimed at researchers and professionals whose work focuses on the material heritage of around three million years of human and environmental history and addresses the challenges of modern research data infrastructures. The work program of NFDI4Objects is aligned with the data life cycle of archaeological objects: From exploration and recovery to collection, analysis and preservation of the objects. The storage and dissemination of research data and the transfer of results to education play a central role.

In N4O-Task Area 1 a questionnaire was developed and a survey was carried out from January to March 2024 with the aim of gaining an overview of the application of geophysical prospection in archaeology. It was therefore directed in particular at long-standing experts working in this field in research institutions, state offices or commercial companies. The responses were processed and compiled in a report. They provide detailed insight into the practical geophysical prospecting work across the different stakeholders involved in the investigation of cultural heritage. Furthermore, it created the basis for discussing generally applicable standards for handling geophysical data and metadata in the NDFDI4Objects Community Cluster Geophysics. A standardized approach to archaeo-geophysical data is desirable and necessary in order to improve sustainable access, long-term archiving and to make it easier for data users to handle this data, especially those who are not experts in the field.