Archaeological dataset

The first standardized
dataset of archaeological
artefacts.

Museums hold millions of objects. Most have never been documented to a standard that allows comparison across collections.

PHOTARCH applies a shared standard to every object: controlled conditions, calibrated colour, consistent angles, and structured metadata. The result is a dataset built for research, comparison, and long-term reference.

Request access

Archaeological artefact — PHOTARCH standard documentation

Stay informed as the dataset grows.

No noise. Updates when something meaningful happens.

—

Objects in the dataset

—

Contributing institutions

—

Collections

Work featured in

The problem

Why collections cannot be compared.

Inconsistent documentation

Different lighting, angles, backgrounds, and scales make it impossible to compare objects across collections. A brooch in Lund and a similar brooch in Copenhagen cannot be studied side by side.

Fragmented access

High-quality records sometimes exist — but rarely in a form that supports systematic research. They sit on institutional hard drives, buried in grey literature, or published at low resolution.

No shared standard

Without a common protocol, every new record is an island. PHOTARCH is the standard that connects them.

The standard

A consistent set of views.
Controlled light. Neutral background.

PHOTARCH defines how an artefact should be photographed — not how it should look. The goal is reproducibility: any institution following the method produces images that can be compared directly with any other.

The method covers required views, camera and lens specifications, lighting setup, background, colour calibration, focus requirements, file format, and metadata structure.

Commission a digitization →

PHOTARCH standard views — Sösdala artefact

The dataset

Images that carry
information, not just appearance.

Each record in PHOTARCH connects an artefact to its images, provenance, period, material, and institution. The dataset is structured for machine readability — filter by type, period, material, or colour.

Images are standardized. Metadata is structured. Everything is citable. The archive grows as institutions contribute — each addition follows the same method, so the whole remains coherent.

Explore the dataset

Artefact record

Inventory number, period, material, object type, site, institution

Image set

Up to 6 standardized views per object, TIFF + JPEG

Colour data

Dominant colour values extracted per image

Provenance

Geographic coordinates when available

License

CC BY — citable in publications and research

Access

Built for the people who work with artefacts.

Researcher

Access the full archive. Search, filter, and export for publication. Cite individual records.

€9 / month

Start research access

Institution

Team access for up to 10 researchers. Contribute objects directly to the archive. Priority support.

€90 / month

Set up institution access

Digitization

Commission a digitization.

Objects are photographed according to the PHOTARCH standard and entered directly into the archive. The result is a permanent, citable record — not a folder of files.

Pricing: €150 per object (full set) or €25 per additional angle. Institutions may also fund specific digitizations through the archive funding page.

Commission an object Fund a digitization →

Per object

€150

Full set of standardized views

Per angle

€25

Additional or detail views

Delivery

2–4 w

TIFF + JPEG, metadata included

Archive entry

Yes

Object entered into PHOTARCH directly

Features

What the archive can do.

Built to connect with the systems heritage already uses.

PHOTARCH follows established standards where they exist and extends them where the photographic dimension is not addressed. The goal is interoperability — records that can leave the archive and work elsewhere.

CC BY 4.0

Active

Creative Commons Attribution. All images and metadata are openly licensed and citable.

TIFF / JPEG

Active

TIFF as master format, JPEG as delivery derivative. Resolution and colour space requirements defined by the PHOTARCH standard.

EXIF / IPTC

Active

Camera metadata and descriptive metadata embedded in image files at ingest.

Dublin Core

Active

Core descriptive fields (title, type, date, creator, rights) mapped to Dublin Core elements in all records.

LIDO

Active

Lightweight Information Describing Objects. XML export per object for aggregation with museum network portals.

ARK / NAAN

Active

Archival Resource Keys with registered Name Assigning Authority Number. Persistent, resolvable identifiers for every object record.

SHA-256 checksums

Active

Cryptographic checksums on all stored image files. Enables verification of file integrity over time.

ISO 19264

Active

Digitization of cultural heritage materials — image quality. Defines measurable requirements for spatial resolution, colour accuracy, and dynamic range. Answers the question: is the image technically sufficient?

CIDOC-CRM

Coming

Conceptual Reference Model for cultural heritage. The underlying ontology for object-event relationships.

IIIF

Coming

International Image Interoperability Framework. IIIF manifests per object for integration with external viewers and platforms.

C2PA

Planned

Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity. Cryptographic signing embedded in image files — verifies origin, capture device, and that the file has not been altered. Answers the question: can this image be trusted?

SPECTRUM

Planned

UK collections management standard. Alignment with SPECTRUM procedures for object entry, acquisition, and location.

Europeana EDM

Planned

Europeana Data Model. Enables contribution to the Europeana aggregator for European cultural heritage.

Standards comparison

What PHOTARCH covers that other standards do not.

Existing heritage metadata standards describe what an object is. PHOTARCH also specifies how it must be photographed — making the image itself part of the standard, not an afterthought.

Field	Note	PHOTARCH	Dublin Core	CIDOC-CRM	LIDO	SPECTRUM
Object identification	Inventory number, type, title	●	●	●	●	●
Material & period	Structured vocabulary	●	◐	●	●	●
Provenance & site	Site name, geographic coordinates	●	◐	●	◐	●
Institution	Holding or excavating body	●	●	●	●	●
Standardized views	Defined required angles (top, front, back…)	●	○	○	◐	◐
Lighting specification	Controlled, reproducible setup	●	○	○	○	○
Background & calibration	Neutral background, colour target required	●	○	○	○	○
File format requirements	TIFF master, JPEG derivative	●	○	○	◐	◐
Colour data	Extracted dominant values per image	●	○	○	○	○
Machine-readable structure	Queryable, filterable dataset	●	●	●	◐	◐
Integrated dataset	Standard + archive in one system	●	○	○	○	○
Open license	CC BY on image and metadata	●	◐	◐	◐	◐

●Fully covered

◐Partially covered or optional

○Not addressed

Support the archive

Keep the dataset open and growing.

PHOTARCH is open access. No paywalls on published records. Supporting the archive helps fund digitizations, infrastructure, and the people who maintain the standard.

Supporter

€5 / month

Your name on the public supporters list (opt-out available). Cancel any time.

Become a supporter →

Donate

Any amount

A one-time contribution toward digitization costs or infrastructure. Every object in the archive has a direct cost.

Donate →

The first standardizeddataset of archaeologicalartefacts.

Why collections cannot be compared.

A consistent set of views.Controlled light. Neutral background.

Images that carryinformation, not just appearance.

Built for the people who work with artefacts.

Commission a digitization.

What the archive can do.

Built to connect with the systems heritage already uses.

What PHOTARCH covers that other standards do not.

Keep the dataset open and growing.

The first standardized
dataset of archaeological
artefacts.

A consistent set of views.
Controlled light. Neutral background.

Images that carry
information, not just appearance.