## 2 Background
In the effort to protect the archaeological heritage, the idea of \"protection of the archaeological heritage through documentation\" appears as a vital idea at the international level, imposing concepts such as: \"preservation by record\", \"mitigation through data recovery\", and \"sauvegarder par l'etude\" (French) [14]. This approach has led to a rethinking of how to conduct archaeological research, from classical excavation to the use of non-intrusive investigation techniques, such as geomagnetism, aerial photography, LIDAR, 3D scanning, and GIS, in order to obtain coherent and effective evidence [27; 28; 29; 30]. It is known that any archaeological research is destructive, and any area having unexplored archaeological heritage in which investment is made without the prior release of the archaeological site deprives interested parties of the related knowledge. Thus, in the field of essential information, an adequate record and documentation of archaeological remains must allow the accumulation of information about each site/discovery that is as consistent as possible. This documentation must be produced and stored in digital format, and be easy to find and publicly accessible, thus forming the basis for establishing any national and sectoral strategy for managing archaeological data and information with the aim of highlighting the revealed remains. In this context, most countries with a tradition in the field of archaeological heritage protection have developed systems for recording archaeological heritage. Some of these represent a reference and are listed in the following sections. In the UK, the institutions responsible for protecting the built heritage (including the archaeological heritage)--the English Heritage government agency, the Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers, and the Institute of Historic Building Conservation--have initiated and manage the Heritage Gateway website [31]. Since 1981, this site has stored, and made available to the public, detailed information on the objectives of the UK's historical and archaeological heritage (Figure 1). Unitary built heritage management systems have also been developed in Scotland and Wales. In Scotland, the Computer Application for the National Monuments Record Enquiries (CANMORE) system comprises a database, a geographic information system, and an archive [32]. In Wales, The Online Catalog of Archaeological Sites, Historic Buildings, Industrial and Maritime Heritage in Wales (COFLEIN) application [33] has the same structure: a historical heritage database (archaeological included), a documentary archive, and a digital map. In both cases the information can be viewed online. In France, there are two tools: la carte archeologique nationale [34], which is a cartographic inventory of archeological sites and discoveries; and the database called \"L'Atlas des patrimoines\" [35], managed by the Ministry of Culture through the regional archeology services (Les Directions Regionales des Affaires Culturelles). Access to these documentation tools is available to the public (Figure 2). Figure 1: UK Heritage Gateway web site: example of how to identify a historical monument “Pair of Lime Kilns at Kitley Caves” on the digital map associated with the database. Figure 2: France Atlas des patrimoines: the search result for historical monuments in “Centre Val de Loire” geographical area. The system of evidence and management of the archaeological heritage implemented in Italy, since 1995, is called C.A.R.T.--Archaeological map of territorial risk [36] (Figure 3). This is a source of knowledge, enabling protection of the archaeological heritage as support for the programming of any intervention in the territory [37; 38; 39]. Another example in Italy, II Sistema Informativo Territoriale Archeologico di Roma (SITAR), is an integrated system for managing issues related to the archaeological heritage of Rome using the webGIS platform.