ARK and the digital publication

The digital companion to the print volume for Villa Magna is designed as a way of publishing our stratigraphic reports, object catalogues and excavation data in a more integrated, interactive way than is possible within the confines of a traditional monograph. All data (stratigraphic units, survey sites, objects, architectural elements, etc.) are held in the same ARK database that was used throughout the excavation process.¹ Individual records are hyperlinked in each stratigraphic report to integrate these narratives with the data responsible for their creation. We also rely heavily on the use of additional online media—plan and photos—that are often limited in print-only works; each image or plan within the stratigraphic reports and catalogues can be enlarged with a click, and downloaded in full resolution.

The data contained here are released on a Creative Commons non-commercial license (CC BY-NC 4.0) in the hopes that these materials will be a useful tool for future researchers to reuse or restructure in the years to come. We see this commitment to openness as a natural continuation of our earlier on-site commitment to integrated recording techniques, reflexive practices and online project data.

The project is generously hosted by the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World, Brown University. A copy of the project data tables and stratigraphic report texts will also be deposited with the Brown Digital Repository for sustainable archiving.

Additional technical credits

A number of icons from the Noun Project were used in the interface of the online data and catalogues. All materials were licensed under the Creative Commons—Attribution (CC BY 3.0) license. Our thanks to the following creators for sharing their work:

1See: Dufton, print volume: 21–2.