Complete guide to all features and roles.
Overview
PHOTARCH is a standardised photographic method and curated database for archaeological artefacts. Every object in the archive has been documented using the same controlled conditions — lighting, angle, background, colour reference, and physical scale — so that images are comparable across collections, institutions, and time. The result is a machine-readable visual dataset built for research, not a general-purpose photo gallery.
The platform has two sides: a publicly accessible archive that anyone can browse without an account, and a set of tools for researchers, institutions, and administrators who need deeper access or contribute to the dataset.
Persistent identifiers (ARK, NAAN 73195) are assigned to every object, making citations stable across platform changes. All published objects are open access by default.
PHOTARCH uses a role-based access system. Each level includes everything below it unless otherwise noted. Supporter: €5/month. Researcher: €9/month. Institution: €90/month (10 seats).
Public
Free, no account required
Supporter
€5 / month
Researcher
€9 / month
Institution
€90 / month (10 seats included)
Archive
The archive is accessible at app.photarch.com without an account. All published objects are listed in a grid ordered by entry date, newest first. Each cell shows the hero image, inventory number, title, and the object's dominant colour palette as a horizontal bar.
Text search — The search field matches across title, inventory number, find site, and institution name. Partial matches are supported.
Filters — The filter panel lets you narrow by period (controlled vocabulary), material (controlled vocabulary), object type, find site (substring match), and dominant colour (proximity match against the 16 most common palette colours in the dataset). Multiple filters stack: all must match simultaneously.
Collections — A collections dropdown filters the archive to a specific named collection (e.g., a museum's catalogue subset). Collections can have hero images and descriptions set by administrators.
Result counts — The interface displays both the total number of published objects and the count matching the active filter. Clearing all filters restores the full set.
Each object has a dedicated page reachable by clicking any result in the archive grid, or directly via its ARK identifier or PHOTARCH ID.
Image gallery — The hero image (top view) is shown first, followed by any additional documented views: front, back, left, right, bottom, detail, and other. Click any thumbnail to make it the primary view.
Fragments and related objects — If the object belongs to a fragment group (e.g., sherds from the same vessel), the group members appear as a row of thumbnails below the gallery. A "Compare group" link opens all members side by side in the comparison tool.
Embargo — If an embargo date is set, non-admin users see a notice rather than the images until the embargo expires.
Metadata — The right column presents the object record in structured sections:
Similar objects — Below the metadata, up to six visually similar objects are suggested based on palette distance (colour proximity algorithm).
Navigation — Use the left and right arrow keys, or swipe on mobile, to move to adjacent objects in the current filtered set without returning to the archive.
ARK identifier — Every object carries a persistent ARK identifier (NAAN 73195) suitable for stable citation in publications and databases.
The Map view (accessible from the main navigation) displays all objects that have GPS coordinates recorded. Each marker shows the inventory number, title, period, material, and find site. Clicking a marker opens a preview with the hero image and a link to the full object page.
Coordinates are recorded at ingest and are stored per object as decimal latitude and longitude. They represent the find location, not the current museum location.
The Timeline view shows the chronological distribution of objects in the archive, grouped by period. Period labels are resolved from the controlled vocabulary. Each group shows the object count and links to a filtered archive view for that period.
Objects are placed on the timeline using their period vocabulary code. If specific date range years (start/end year) are recorded for a period, those are used for fine-grained placement.
Researcher tools
Researcher accounts and above can save objects by clicking the heart icon on any object page or archive grid cell. Saved objects appear in Favourites under My Collections.
Favourites are personal and not shared unless you add them to a custom collection and share that collection.
A custom collection is a named list of objects you curate yourself. Researchers and above can create any number of collections from the My Collections page or from any object page via the "+ Collection" button in the actions bar.
Creating a collection — Click "New collection" on My Collections, give it a name, and start adding objects.
Adding objects — On any object page, click the "+ Collection" button and select or create the destination collection.
Sharing — Each collection has a unique share token. Click "Share" (or the ··· menu on mobile) to copy a URL you can send to a colleague. The recipient pastes the link into the "Import a collection" field on their My Collections page.
Importing a shared collection — Paste a share link or token into the "Import a collection" field on My Collections. After import the collection appears in a "Shared with me" section that persists across sessions, so it is always accessible from My Collections.
Collection notes — Click "Notes" to open the notes panel for a collection. You can add any number of notes. Each note has a Public / Private toggle: private notes are visible only to you; public notes are included whenever the collection is shared via link, appearing as annotations on the shared collection view. Notes can be edited or deleted at any time.
Open as board — Click "Open as board" to create a new board containing all objects in the collection, arranged in a grid layout. The board opens in the Boards view where you can reposition objects, add annotations, and share it independently.
Add to board — Click "Add to board" to select an existing board and append all collection objects to it. Useful for combining material from multiple collections into one research workspace.
CSV export — Click "CSV" to download all object metadata as a comma-separated file, ready for use in spreadsheet software or reference managers.
Collection report — Click "Report" to open a printable page showing each artefact with a thumbnail, metadata summary, and any active loan status. Use the browser's Print function (Cmd+P / Ctrl+P) to save as PDF.
Each object page has a private notes field for logged-in users. Notes are tied to your account and the specific object — they are not visible to anyone else, including institution administrators.
Writing a note — On any object page, click "↓ Private note" below the actions bar. A text area opens. Notes save automatically as you type (approximately one second after you stop).
Notes are a good place to record interpretations, cross-references, field observations, or anything else you want to retain without it affecting the public object record.
Boards are personal research workspaces where you collect objects and attach notes to them. A Board is distinct from a Shelf: it is explicitly an annotation space, not just a list.
Creating a board — Go to My Pages (Mina sidor) and create a new board under Groups. Give it a name.
Adding notes — From any object page, add the object to a board and write a note. Notes are private to your account by default.
Sharing — Boards can be shared via a private link, similar to custom collections. Recipients can view the board and its notes without an account.
Institution visibility — If you are part of an institution, your board count and annotation count are visible to the institution administrator on their dashboard (but not the note content itself).
Object records and boards can be exported as PDF documents. A PDF export produces a formatted document that contains the object's images, metadata, and citation — suitable for sharing with colleagues, including in reports, or archiving offline.
Exporting an object record — On any object page, the export button is in the actions bar at the top of the metadata column. The resulting PDF includes the hero image and all documented views, the full metadata record, and the auto-generated citation.
Exporting a board — From your board view, use the export option to generate a PDF containing all objects on the board together with any notes you have attached to each object. Notes marked as private are included since the export is generated by your own account.
PDF export is available to Researcher accounts and above.
The Compare tool places up to 24 objects side by side in a synchronised viewer. All images scroll and zoom together, and if measurement data (mm_per_pixel) has been recorded for an object, a visual scale reference is overlaid to keep objects in true relative proportion.
Opening a comparison — From a fragment group on any object page, click "Compare group". Alternatively, build a custom comparison by appending ?ids=id1,id2,id3 to the /compare URL.
Bounding box overlay — Where a bounding box has been drawn (see Measurement), the object outline is overlaid on the comparison image, scaled correctly relative to the other objects.
Dimension display — Object dimensions shown in the sidebar list respect your unit preference (Metric/Imperial), set under Account settings.
Downloads — Researcher accounts can download two formats from the comparison view: a contact sheet (all objects arranged in a single image) and a board export (the full layout including any pins and annotations).
Minimum 2 objects are required. Objects without hero images are shown as placeholders.
Researcher accounts and above can submit digitization orders for objects they want added to the archive. This is the correct path for researchers who have identified objects in collections that are not yet documented.
Submitting an order — Go to Commission (accessible from the navigation). Click "New order" and fill in:
Once submitted, the order moves from Draft to Submitted. PHOTARCH administrators review it, issue a quote, and confirm scheduling. Status updates are visible on the Commission page: Draft → Submitted → Quoted → Confirmed → Completed.
Email notifications — You will receive an email when your order changes status: when it is reviewed, when a quote is issued, and when the session is confirmed. Completed objects are entered directly into the archive and linked to your account.
The funding page allows anyone — including those without a subscription — to support the documentation of specific objects. Rather than commissioning a full session, you contribute toward the cost of a particular object you want to see in the archive.
Objects that have been nominated for digitization but not yet funded are listed on the funding page. Each shows the object description, the institution holding it, the total documentation cost, and how much has been pledged so far. When an object reaches full funding, it is scheduled for documentation.
Making a contribution — Select a collection from the funding list, choose an amount, and complete the payment. Contributions are processed through Stripe. You can contribute any amount toward any collection — partial contributions count toward the total.
Recognition — Contributors are listed on the object's page once it has been documented and entered into the archive (unless you opt out during the contribution process).
Institution
Institution and Partner Institution accounts have access to a dedicated dashboard at /institution (also linked as "Dashboard" in the navigation).
Seat overview — The dashboard displays current seat usage: active researchers + pending invitations / maximum seats. The seat bar turns amber when the cap is reached. Institution accounts include 10 seats. Additional seats can be purchased from the pricing page.
Researcher activity — For each researcher in the organisation, the dashboard shows: boards created, annotations written, collections maintained, and objects saved to favourites. This gives a quick overview of research activity without exposing the content of notes or collections.
Digitization requests — The dashboard lists all digitization requests submitted by the institution, with status indicators: Draft, Submitted, Reviewed, Accepted, Completed. New requests can be submitted from here.
Institution and Partner accounts manage their team from the Team page (/team).
Inviting a researcher — Enter the researcher's email address and click Invite. If they already have a PHOTARCH account, they are added immediately. If not, an invitation email is sent. The invite appears in the Pending list until accepted.
Seat limits — Invitations are blocked when the seat cap is reached. Institution accounts: 10 seats. Partner Institution accounts: 3 seats. The invitation form is disabled and shows a message when the limit is hit.
Removing a member — Each member row has a Remove button. A confirmation dialog appears before removal. Removed researchers lose institution-level access but retain their personal account and data.
Purchasing more seats — A link to the pricing page is shown on the dashboard when seats are at capacity.
Administrator accounts can record the current physical location status of any object using the Loan status field in the Edit metadata panel.
Three statuses are available: In storage (default), On loan, and On display. Selecting "On loan" reveals fields for the receiving institution or contact, and loan start and end dates. Selecting "On display" shows a location field for the exhibition or gallery name.
Loan status is only visible to administrator accounts — it does not appear on the public object page. It serves as a lightweight location reference within PHOTARCH, not a full collections management system.
Collection report — The printable collection report (accessible via "Report" on My Collections) includes the loan status of each object, making it easy to generate a document for loan submissions or internal review.
Every metadata update to an object is recorded in an activity log. The log captures which fields were changed, the new values, and which user account made the change.
Accessing the log — On any object page (admin accounts only), click "↓ Activity log" at the bottom of the right column. The log loads on demand and shows the 50 most recent entries, newest first.
The activity log is an internal audit trail and is not visible to public users, researchers, or institution members. It is intended for provenance transparency and internal revision purposes.
Institutions can submit digitization requests for their collections — formal proposals to have a group of objects documented and entered into the archive.
Creating a request — From the institution dashboard or from /digitize/new, fill in: collection name, estimated number of objects, materials present, and any condition notes. Save as draft or submit immediately.
Status flow — Draft → Submitted (visible to PHOTARCH administrators) → Reviewed → Accepted → Completed. The current status and last update date are shown on the dashboard.
Email notifications — The institution contact receives an email at each status change: when the request is reviewed, when it is accepted, and when documentation is complete. Notifications go to the email address registered with the institution account.
Once accepted, PHOTARCH schedules the documentation session. Completed objects are entered into the archive under the institution's collection.
Each institution may use its own internal terminology for the same concepts that PHOTARCH uses controlled vocabulary for. Vocabulary aliases let you map your internal terms to the PHOTARCH standard terms, so your team can work in familiar language while the underlying data stays consistent across the archive.
Accessing vocabulary aliases — Go to Vocabulary in the institution navigation. The Vocabulary Aliases section is at the bottom of the page.
Adding an alias — Select the vocabulary field you are mapping (Period, Material, Object type, Object subtype, Technique, Condition, or Acquisition method). Then choose the PHOTARCH standard term from the dropdown — the dropdown is populated with all active terms for that vocabulary. Finally, enter your institution's internal term for it and click Add. The alias is saved immediately.
Removing an alias — Click the × button on any existing alias row to remove it.
Aliases do not change the stored value in the database. They are a display and entry aid for your team.
Measurement
PHOTARCH stores a scale reference for every object where a known physical measurement was entered at ingest. This makes it possible to derive actual dimensions from the image and to align objects to true scale in the comparison tool.
What is stored — For each hero image, the system stores:
Using scale in comparisons — The comparison tool uses mm_per_pixel to scale images relative to each other. If one object has a mm_per_pixel value and another does not, the tool displays the measured object at correct scale and the unmeasured object without scaling.
Account
Your account settings are at /account, reachable by clicking your avatar or the settings icon in the sidebar.
Profile — Update your first name, last name, workplace, and job title. Your display name (shown in the platform and to institution administrators) is derived from first + last name.
Avatar — Click the + button on your avatar to upload a new profile photo. JPEG, PNG, and WebP are supported.
Language — Switch the interface language between English and Swedish. The change is applied immediately and saved to your profile — no page reload required. Your preference is stored per account and restored on next login.
Units — Switch between Metric (mm / g) and Imperial (in / oz). When Imperial is selected, all recorded measurements — object dimensions on object pages and comparison view — are automatically converted and displayed in inches and ounces. The preference is saved to your profile. Note: measurements are always stored internally in metric; conversion is display-only.
Newsletter — Toggle newsletter subscription on or off. If you unsubscribe, the change takes effect immediately.
Supporter list — Supporter accounts can choose whether their name appears on the public supporters page. The checkbox is shown only if your account is at the Supporter level.
ORCID — Connect your ORCID iD to link research attribution to your PHOTARCH profile. A connected ORCID is displayed as a verified link.
Two-factor authentication — Add a second layer of security via a TOTP authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Authy, etc.). Scan the QR code, enter the 6-digit confirmation code, and 2FA is enabled. You can disable it at any time from the same section.
Subscription — The Subscription section is shown to all users. Paid accounts (Supporter, Researcher, Institution) can click "Manage subscription" to open the Stripe customer portal and change plan, update payment details, or cancel. For accounts without an active subscription, clicking the button displays an informational note.
Upgrading — The right side of the account page shows the tiers above your current level with links to the membership and pricing pages.
Logging out — The Log out button is at the bottom of the account form. You are redirected to the archive root.
My Pages (/mina-sidor) is a personal hub available to Researcher accounts and above. It brings together all your saved and annotated content in one place.
From here you can also create new collections and groups, and navigate directly to any saved set.
Standards
Dublin Core is the most widely adopted metadata standard in libraries, archives, and digital collections. It defines fifteen simple fields — title, creator, subject, description, date, type, format, identifier, and others — that are understood by virtually every cataloguing system in use today. When an object's record is exported as Dublin Core XML, any institution or software that speaks Dublin Core can import it without manual reformatting.
Every object in PHOTARCH can be exported as a Dublin Core XML file. The export maps the object's title, type, material, period, institution, find site, photographer, capture date, licence, and ARK identifier to the corresponding Dublin Core elements.
Downloading the export — On any object page, the Dublin Core XML download is available in the export section. The file is named using the inventory number. The export is publicly accessible — no account required.
The Dublin Core export is intended for integration with external cataloguing systems. If you need richer structured data that preserves museum-specific relationships, see the LIDO XML export below.
LIDO stands for Lightweight Information Describing Objects. It is an XML standard developed specifically for cultural heritage institutions to exchange object data with museum network portals — including Europeana and national aggregators. Where Dublin Core provides a flat list of basic fields, LIDO structures the same information into events: who made the object, when, where it was found, who holds it now, and how it has been documented. This richer structure is what collection management systems and heritage portals expect.
Every object in PHOTARCH can be exported as a LIDO v1.0 XML file. The export includes object classification, title, repository and inventory number, find site, production event (with period, material, and technique), rights information, and the ARK identifier as a persistent record ID.
Downloading the export — On any object page, the LIDO XML download is in the export section. The file is named photarch_[inventory-number]_lido.xml. The export is publicly accessible — no account required.
LIDO export is the correct format to use when contributing PHOTARCH records to Europeana, a national heritage aggregator, or a collection management system such as MuseumPlus.
A SHA-256 checksum is a fixed-length fingerprint derived mathematically from a file's contents. If even a single byte in the file changes — through corruption, transmission error, or tampering — the checksum changes entirely. This makes checksums a reliable way to verify that a file is exactly what it is supposed to be.
PHOTARCH stores a SHA-256 checksum for every image file in the archive. The checksum is calculated at ingest and stored alongside the image record. If a file is ever retrieved, the checksum can be recalculated and compared against the stored value. A match confirms the file is intact and unmodified.
For long-term archiving purposes this matters: an image that was correct in 2024 can be verified as still correct in 2034. For research purposes it also matters: when you cite a PHOTARCH image, the checksum is evidence that the image you used and the image in the archive are the same file.
Checksums are shown on the object page in the documentation section and are included in the bulk CSV export.
The full PHOTARCH dataset can be exported as a single CSV file. Each row represents one object. Columns cover the complete metadata record: inventory number, PHOTARCH ID, ARK identifier, title, object type, material, technique, period, date range, find site, GPS coordinates, institution, collection, photographer, capture date, licence, dominant colour values, dimensions, and image checksums.
The CSV export is intended for computational research — importing into statistical software, building training datasets, cross-referencing with external databases, or archiving a point-in-time snapshot of the collection.
Accessing the export — The bulk export is available from the Archive page for Researcher accounts and above. The download is generated on demand and reflects the current state of the published archive at the time of export.
Image files are not included in the CSV — only metadata and file references. To download images in bulk, use the image download function on individual object pages or contact PHOTARCH for a data delivery agreement.
An ARK identifier is a permanent address for an object. Think of it as a postal address that never changes, even if the building is renovated or the street is renamed. Once an object receives an ARK, that address will continue to work regardless of future changes to the platform.
PHOTARCH is registered with the ARK Alliance under Name Assigning Authority Number (NAAN) 73195. This number uniquely identifies PHOTARCH as the organisation responsible for the identifiers it issues. It functions like a country code in a phone number — it tells the world who issued the address and who maintains it.
ARK identifiers look like this: ark:/73195/p3x7q…. They can be resolved through the global ARK resolver at n2t.net, which means a citation using an ARK will continue to lead to the right object even if PHOTARCH changes its domain name.
When citing objects from PHOTARCH in a publication, report, or database, use the ARK identifier rather than the page URL. The ARK is shown on every object page alongside the inventory number.
Every object in the archive has been photographed under the same controlled conditions. This is not a stylistic choice — it is what makes the images useful for research. When lighting, angle, background, and colour reference are consistent across thousands of objects, you can compare them directly. A darkening of patina, a difference in surface texture, a similarity in form — these things become visible only when the images are made the same way.
The standard specifies: a neutral grey background, a calibrated colour reference card in every frame, a physical scale bar, lighting from a fixed angle with a defined modifier, and a top-down primary view followed by any additional documented angles (front, back, left, right, bottom, detail).
The colour reference card is processed after photography to extract the dominant colour palette of the object. This palette is stored as data, not just as a visual — it makes it possible to search the archive by colour and to compare palettes across objects computationally.
The scale bar in every image is what makes measurement possible. When an object's physical dimensions are entered at ingest, the platform calculates how many millimetres correspond to each pixel in that image. This scale factor is stored alongside the image and used by the comparison tool to display objects at their true relative sizes.
XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform) is a standard for embedding information directly inside an image file. When you open a PHOTARCH image in any professional photo application — Adobe Lightroom, Capture One, Preview on a Mac — the metadata travels with the file. You do not need a separate spreadsheet or database export to know what you are looking at.
Every downloadable image from PHOTARCH carries embedded XMP metadata that includes the inventory number, title, period, material, institution, find site, physical dimensions, photographer, capture date, and the ARK identifier. The fields follow standard schemas (Dublin Core, XMP Basic, IPTC) so the data is readable by any software that supports XMP.
This means that even if you download a thousand images and store them on a hard drive with no internet connection, each file still carries its full archival context.
An ICC colour profile is a small file that tells a screen, printer, or software application exactly how the colours in an image should be reproduced. Without one, the same image can look noticeably different depending on the device displaying it — a warm brown on one monitor might appear as a cool grey on another.
PHOTARCH embeds ICC profiles in all downloadable images and makes the profiles available for download separately (Researcher accounts and above). This matters most in two situations: publication, where accurate colour reproduction is required, and research, where colour is used as a diagnostic feature of the object itself.
The colour reference card photographed with every object provides the data needed to verify or adjust colour accuracy after the fact. If you need to reproduce the object's colour in print or on a calibrated display, the ICC profile is the starting point.
A controlled vocabulary is a fixed list of agreed terms used to describe objects consistently. Instead of one researcher writing "Bronze Age" and another writing "Early Bronze Age" and a third writing "EBA", everyone uses the same term from the same list. This is what makes it possible to search across collections from different institutions and get reliable results.
PHOTARCH maintains controlled vocabularies for: period, material, object type, object subtype, technique, condition, and acquisition method. Each vocabulary is managed by PHOTARCH administrators and can be extended when new terms are needed.
Terms are available in multiple languages. Each term has a primary label and optional translations, so the archive can display vocabulary in the user's chosen language while the underlying data stays language-neutral.
Institutions that use their own internal terminology can create vocabulary aliases — mappings between their local terms and the PHOTARCH standard terms. This means your team can work in the language they are used to without compromising consistency in the archive. See Vocabulary aliases under Institution for details.
Citation & identifiers
Every object in PHOTARCH has a persistent ARK identifier (Name Assigning Authority Number 73195). ARK identifiers are designed to remain stable even if the platform URL structure changes, making them suitable for publication in journal articles, reports, and databases.
Finding the identifier — The ARK identifier and PHOTARCH ID are shown in the metadata column of every object page under the inventory number.
Auto-generated citations — The citation section on each object page generates formatted references in APA, Chicago, Harvard, and MLA styles. Click the format name to toggle between styles. Copy the citation text directly.
Stable links — When linking to an object in a publication, use the ARK identifier URL rather than the direct page URL, to protect against future platform changes.
All published objects in PHOTARCH are open access. Images and metadata can be browsed, referenced, and used for research and education without restriction. The specific licence for each image is recorded in the object's documentation section.
Copyright in the physical objects remains with the owning institution. Objects are published with the institution's knowledge and agreement. PHOTARCH retains copyright in the photographic documentation it produces.
High-resolution and TIFF downloads are available to Supporter and Researcher accounts respectively, subject to the licence terms on each object.