ETANA-GIS: GIS for archaeological digital libraries

Summary form only given. With the growing importance of mapping land, regions, and their related features, geographic information systems (GIS) has become an ever important standard in fields where such detailed study of land features is required. Here, we draw on the Space aspect of the 5S meta-model for digital libraries and demonstrate a methodology used to integrate archaeological GIS data with the wealth of information within ETANA-DL. ETANA GIS connects the digital library´s textual records with a spatial representation of their original locations, enhancing users´ understanding of the finds. Using a dataset of the University of Toronto´s Tell Madaba excavation project we developed an interactive, Web-based representation of the original ArcGIS document. For dynamic generation of maps from geospatial data, we use the MapServer project, a mature, project which boasts a rich toolset of features for cartographic related image generation. MapServer can directly utilize ArcGIS layer resources but some translation and additional authoring must occur for proper image generation. Then, using PHP, the MapScript MapServer API, and navigation tools, the map was ported to an interactive, Web-accessible format. Based on a study of alternatives, the technology we chose for our technique seemed to be the best suited for digital library integration and is also completely open source. To integrate the Web-based version of the Tell Madaba GIS map with the existing digital library, the layers depicting archaeological divisions are clickable and labeled for easy identification