MAEASaM has been working hard to modify and refine the Arches geospatial database for African archaeological sites and monuments. This is part of our continued efforts to develop a unified African geodatabase in collaboration with our national heritage stakeholders. As part of the modification process we have identified six different resource models that will cater for the large volumes of heterogeneous heritage site data types that derive from diverse geographical and information regions. These Resource Models currently include but are not limited to, (1) Site, (2) Actor, (3) Information, (4) Chronology, (5) Remote Sensing, and (6) Administration. To keep you updated, we take the opportunity to describe one of the resource models that has been finalised – The Administration Resource Model (ARM).
The function of the Administration Resource Model (ARM) is to provide the geopolitical context for each site entered into the database. Although history and past cultures transcend modern state boundaries, the administration and protection of these sites fall within the political and administrative origination of each nation. Therefore, a site that is added to the database needs to be placed within the administrative hierarchy of the country, which is done via the use of the ARM.
To develop the ARM, we balanced the technical aspect of the different administration systems with a straightforward user interface. This allows users to easily use the database, while simultaneously allowing improved system integration of the resource model into the database. The ARM is developed to include the first three levels of the administration system of each member nation, which makes it easy for users to locate heritage sites within a selected region. Similarly, a three-tiered level hierarchy will allow the national authorities of the member nations to effectively manage and monitor their respective heritage sites. An additional benefit of the system is that it can help streamline future development projects as developers will know from the start what heritage sites are in the targeted area. This will not only help in preventing unnecessary delays but will also reduce the risk of accidental damage to the sites. Maintenance of the ARM is also easy to do, with two paths being available. For adding limited entries and/or modifications of already uploaded entries, the simple and straightforward Graphical User Interface (GUI) can be used. For the bulk upload of large quantities of entries, files need to be in a comma-separated value (CSV) file format as well as following a predetermined format. With the streaming of the ARM, this process has been simplified to make it more user-friendly. Combining user-friendliness with straightforward coding principles has allowed us to develop the ARM into an intuitive, yet robust, model that can accommodate any nation that uses it. Similarly, should any nation require more than a three-tiered system, the ARM can easily be modified to accommodate this requirement.
Renier van der Merwe
MAEASaM Researcher for Southern Africa, University of the Witwatersrand
Mahmoud Abdelrazek
MAEASaM Database Developer, University of Cambridge