Prospects and Potential for the National Digital Repository of Archaeological Site Reports
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 22/10/2020

This  presentation  will  introduce  the  “Japan  Cultural  Heritage  Search”(JCH).  The  JCH  is  an  electronic online searchable archive which aims to hold every report on excavation or survey of archaeological sites in Japan. Previously, despite their high value as academic resources, such reports (often called 'Gray Literature') have been distributed within a quite restricted range and are rather difficult for public readers to use. Accordingly, by publishing them on the Internet, the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (NNRICP) aims to create a digital environment easily and readily available to anyone who wishes to use the database for research and study. In our presentation we will discuss the massive public interest in the reports since they  have  been  put  online  JCH  enables  the  search  of  cultural  property  reports  published  by  municipalities and institutions nationwide as well as browsing full-text PDF files. It includes a function to visualize data utilizing natural language processing. The database is operated by NNRICP. We collaborate with 864 organizations including universities and local governments to promote electronic disclosure of reports. Currently, the Agency for Cultural Affairs in Japan is in the process of coordinating the registration of reports as an administrative task of cultural properties. We are working on creating a mechanism whereby the issuing organization registers reports. These activities also aim to interconnect with international portals such as ARIADNE to realize cross research, and therefore language becomes a key constraint on encouraging usage outside Japan.


Yuichi Takata, Akihiro Kaneda, Miyu Konuma, Sadakatsu Kunitake