Methods and Application of Archeological Cloud Platform for Grand Sites Based on Spatio-Temporal Big Data

Abstract

Grand sites are important witnesses of human civilization. The archeology of grand sites has the characteristics of a long period, interdisciplinary study, irreversibility and uncertainties. Because of the lack of effective methods and valid tools, large amounts of archeological data cannot be properly processed in time, which creates many difficulties for the conservation and use of grand sites. This study provides a method of integrating spatio-temporal big data of grand sites, including classification and coding, spatial scales and a spatio-temporal framework, through which the integration of archeological data of multiple sites or different archeological excavations is realized. A system architecture was further proposed for an archeological information cloud platform for grand sites. By providing services such as data, visualization, standardizations, spatial analysis, and application software, the archeological information cloud platform of grand sites can display sites, ruins, and relics in 2D and 3D according to their correlation. It can also display the transformation of space and time around archeological cultures, and restored ruins in a 3D virtual environment. The platform provides increased support to interdisciplinary study and the dissemination of research results. Taking the Origin of Chinese Civilization Project as a case study, it shows that the method for data aggregation and fusion proposed in this study can efficiently integrate multi-source heterogeneous archeological spatio-temporal data of different sites or different periods. The archeological information cloud platform has great significance to the study of the origin of Chinese civilization, dissemination of Chinese civilization, and the public participation in archeology, which would promote the sustainable development of the conservation and use of grand sites.