The new digital archive at the Neanderthal Museum

Abstract

The management and publication of digital data on online repositories constitutes a task that is becoming more and more relevant for museums and cultural heritage institutions alike. Not only is it important to archive the growing volume of data produced on a daily basis, but also to make this data available and reach out to old and new audience targets, such as fellow researchers, students, enthusiasts, in new and meaningful ways. The Neanderthal Museum, since two decades engaged in the development and establishment of a diversified digital offer, profiting from the recent completion of the DISAPALE project and its hundreds of newly scanned 3D models, has created a brand new online portal, planned as the core of its digital activity. The history of development (specifically the NESPOS portal), the issues encountered in the planning and realization phases (e.g. requirements for efficiency and long-term maintainability, freedom from previous dependencies on proprietary software), as well as the design decisions and technical solutions are critically discussed, highlighting strengths, weaknesses and possible future improvements. An introduction to the client-server architecture is provided, detailing the development of the back-end using a lightweight Java server component with integrated PostgreSQL relational database and the user-facing front-end built with modern web technologies to create a tailor-made, flexible and clutter-free web application. Finally a short look at the current status of scientific enterprises in digital archaeology is given, with a specific focus on the entanglements between museums, cultural heritage institutions and government entities.