Lifecycles of Archaeological Data: Creation, Usage, and Reuse
Program and Abstracts of the 3rd Annual Workshop in the Exploring the Layers of Digital Archaeological Practice Series
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We are pleased to announce the third workshop in the Exploring the Layers of Digital Archaeological Practice Workshop Series (2024–2027), Lifecycles of Archaeological Data: Creation, Usage, and Reuse, taking place on December 2–3, 2026, at the Norwegian Institute at Athens.
The workshop is part of the four-year series Exploring the Layers of Digital Archaeological Practice, a structured forum that critically examines the changing relationship between digital technologies and archaeological practice, theory, and knowledge production. Following the first two workshops, the third meeting focuses on the lifecycle of archaeological data, from their creation and documentation through analysis, dissemination, preservation, and eventual reuse.
Rather than viewing archaeological data as static products of documentation, the workshop approaches them as dynamic entities whose meanings, functions, and authority can change throughout their lifecycle. It examines how methodological decisions shape the character and interpretive potential of datasets; how digital infrastructures, standards, and interfaces condition their organization, accessibility, and longevity; and how data are transformed into archaeological arguments, narratives, and visualizations. It also considers what happens when datasets move beyond the projects that originally produced them, and the conditions under which they can be meaningfully reused across different scholarly communities, digital platforms, and public contexts.
Bringing together theoretical reflections, methodological case studies, and applied perspectives, the workshop addresses the relationships between data creation and interpretation, the role of digital infrastructures in knowledge production, the realities and challenges of data reuse, and the growing importance of digital literacy for archaeological research and education. By considering archaeological data as evolving rather than fixed entities, it also contributes to broader discussions of transparency, reproducibility, sustainability, and responsible digital scholarship, while exploring new approaches to designing, communicating, preserving, and teaching with archaeological data.
Topics addressed include:
- Digital Renderings and their Interpretive Roles
- Linking Data and Argumentation Processes
- Interfaces for Data Understanding and Reuse
- Archaeological Data Literacy and Digital Pedagogy
- Data Reuse Realities and Imaginaries
- Public Engagement, Heritage Communication, and the Societal Impact of Data Reuse
Open Keynote Lecture
The workshop is closed to the public, but the first day of the workshop will conclude with an open keynote lecture by Konstantinos Dallas:
Beyond the Data Lifecycle: Reassembling Archaeological Materiality, Scholarly Warrant, and Computational Argumentation in the Digital Continuum