Projectiles Database Documentation
Updated: 29. 6. 2021
Contact e-mail: digitalia@phil.muni.cz
The goal of the Projectiles factual database is to enable access to a digital collection of archaeological data originally published in DSpace, mainly containing photographs and 3D models. The database was created at the request of Mgr. et Mgr. Ludmila Kaňáková Hladíková, Ph.D. as accompanying data for publication. The collection was created under the TAČR project Individual and Community. An insight into hierarchy of the Early Bronze Age society on the basis of burial ranges. (GP13-24252P).
The authors of the database are Mgr. et Mgr. Ludmila Kaňáková Hladíková, Ph.D., the principal creator of the arrow records, and Mgr. Vojtěch Nosek, the author of 3D models.
The target group includes archaeologists, researchers and those from the archaeological community who are interested in findings and projectiles from the Early Bronze Age. As the target group is expected to be predominantly from the international archaeological community, the database is in English.
The technical background for the Projectiles factual database is managed by the Centre for Information Technologies of the Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University as part of the Digitalia MUNI ARTS digital library infrastructure. Mgr. et Mgr. Ludmila Kaňáková Hladíková, Ph.D. remains the administrator of metadata and data contained in the system, she is responsible for the professional quality of the content and ensures adding other sources and records to the system. In 2021, the Projectiles database was transferred to the existing Islandora system under the LINDAT/CLARIAH-CZ project.
The Islandora system is composed of several components:
- Drupal is used to manage the contents of the repository and to store the metadata, while also providing a rich user interface.
- The files are stored in Fedora. Fedora services also include versioning and fixity checking.
- Apache Solr is used for content indexing and searching in the repository.
- Islandora microservices provide synchronization of the contents in the Drupal and Fedora systems and integration of various applications for image, video and text processing.
A more detailed diagram of the architecture of Islandora is part of its documentation.
Individual entries in the Projectiles database are stored as Drupal Nodes, grouped according to Content Type. The Projectiles database includes five content types: Culture, Site, Grave/Feature, Arrowhead and Wristguard.
Files are stored in the repository as Media; these are subsequently attached to individual Arrowheads and Wristguards. They represent the 3D models of projectiles (OBJ and PLY formats), photographs and layouts from 3D models (TIFF, PNG and JPEG formats). Photos and drawings can be viewed online using PhotoSwipe viewer. All files are available for download.
Indexing and searching in the repository is provided by Apache Solr.
The search box is located on the home page and it is also available in the upper right corner. The user can view Culture, Site, Arrowhead and Wristguard object types using their name or metadata. The autocomplete function suggests to the user the names of suitable Nodes and allows quick navigation in the database.
Search results on the Arrowheads page can be filtered by Culture, Site, Serration, or Tip Fracture fields and sorted by name, date added, weight, or dimension.
Search results on the Writguards page can be filtered by Culture or Site fields and sorted by name, date added, or dimension.
Searching ignores characters in the following categories (Unicode Character Categories):
- Punctuation, Connector Characters
- Punctuation, Dash Characters
- Punctuation, Close Characters
- Punctuation, Final Quote Characters
- Punctuation, Initial Quote Characters
- Punctuation, Other Characters
- Punctuation, Open Characters
System operation uses the infrastructure for the operation of virtual servers at the Masaryk University, built on the VMware technology, physically located at the Institute of Computer Science, Masaryk University. The operating system is Ubuntu LTS (based on the recommendation of the Islandora Community).
Backup is performed periodically using a Bacula-based tape device, managed by the Institute of Computer Science, Masaryk University.
All changes in the Arrowheads and Wristguards metadata are recorded in Drupal. Users with the Contributor role can view, compare or delete versions of objects (i.e., Revisions), or restore previous versions of the contents.
The content of the Projectiles database is accessible also to unlogged users. Such users can view Arrowheads and Wristguards metadata and files and search the contents of the database. All types of files listed below [Included files] are available for download.
Registered users can log in at https://projectiles.phil.muni.cz/user/login.
Logged in users with the Contributor role have access to Arrowheads and Wristguards edit forms. They can also manage versions of objects (see Servers, backup, integrity, and authenticity).
An OAI-PMH endpoint has been created for all database entries for sharing the metadata in DC.
The contents of the database are accessible via the REST API. The following formats are supported for the GET method: CSV, JSON, and JSONLD.
- URI of individual objects:
https://projectiles.phil.muni.cz/node/[object_id] - REST endpoint for accessing all projectiles in database:
https://projectiles.phil.muni.cz/arrows/export
To access a resource you need to specify a format using the _format= argument which is appended to the end of the URI after a ?. The following formats are supported for the GET method: XML, JSON and JSONLD.
- Example:
https://projectiles.phil.muni.cz/node/2089?_format=json - Example using cURL:
curl -i https://projectiles.phil.muni.cz/arrows/export?_format=xml
The Matomo tool has been deployed to monitor page performance. The collected data is stored on a local server. The administrators of Digitalia MUNI ARTS and the creators of the Projectiles platform have access to the data.
The Projectiles factual database is a copyright database including elements of protection by a special right of the creator of the database. The elements of the database (photographs and 3D models) are also copyright works. Following a legal analysis and decision of the faculty, the database is made available in accordance with the licensing terms of Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
The database is divided into several levels. The highest hierarchical level represents Culture collections, which contain Sites (geographical locations of findings), which further include Graves/Features (features). Entries within these collections are Arrowheads and Wristguards.
Files (photos, 3D models, layouts from 3D models) are attached to each Arrowhead and Wristguard Node. Formats of files attached include JPEG, MTL, PLY, OBJ, TIFF, PNG.
The Projectiles database stores its metadata in Drupal Fields. Individual entries at the Arrowheads or Wristguards level have a defined list of applicable Fields.
When exporting the metadata in the DC schema, the selected fields are mapped to the DC schema elements.
Table of basic metadata:
| Field | Field Id | Required | Public | Repeatable | Description | DC URI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | title | Yes | Yes | No | Title | http://purl.org/dc/terms/title |
| Identifier | field_identifier | Yes | Yes | No | Identifier | http://purl.org/dc/terms/identifier |
| Format | field_format | Yes | No | No | Format | http://purl.org/dc/terms/format |
| Licence | field_licence | Yes | Yes | No | Rights and licences | http://purl.org/dc/terms/rights |
| Language | language | Yes | No | No | Language | http://purl.org/dc/terms/language |
| Author | field_author | Yes | Yes | Yes | Author | http://purl.org/dc/terms/creator |
| Author of 3D models | field_author_3d_models | No | Yes | Yes | Contributor | http://purl.org/dc/terms/contributor |
| Published | published_at | Yes | No | No | Date issued | http://purl.org/dc/terms/issued |
| Created | created | Yes | No | No | Date created | http://purl.org/dc/terms/created |