About

The Problem

Archaeological artefact photography has no universal standard. An object documented at one institution looks different from the same type of object at another — different backgrounds, different lighting, different angles, different scales. The result is a visual record that cannot be compared.

This is not a minor inconvenience. It is a structural problem for research, conservation, and institutional memory.

The Method

PHOTARCH is a standardised photographic method for archaeological artefacts. Every object in the archive is documented using the same controlled setup: diffuse lighting, neutral white background, calibrated colour reference, physical scale. Views are defined — top, front, back, left, right, detail — so that the same object type is always documented the same way, regardless of who captures it or where.

The result is a visual dataset that behaves like data — not a gallery.

The Archive

All objects documented to the PHOTARCH standard are entered into an open, machine-readable archive. Public access is free. Images and metadata can be referenced, cited, and downloaded without an account. The archive is built on persistent identifiers (NAAN 73195) so that references remain stable over time.

Who Is Behind It

PHOTARCH is developed and operated by Arkeologibyrån, a registered trade name under DLD Daniel Lindskog Design, based in Ystad, Sweden. The project is led by Daniel Lindskog — photographer, archaeologist, and the originator of the standardisation method.

Commissions are accepted from museums, universities, and heritage organisations, primarily in Sweden but also internationally.

Persistent Identifiers

Every object in the PHOTARCH archive receives a persistent ARK identifier under NAAN 73195. These identifiers are designed to remain resolvable over the long term, independent of URL structure or platform changes.