Minutes of the meeting in: Leiden, The Netherlands, March 29-30, 1995

Participants:

Henrik Jarl Hansen, National Museum of Denmark, Denmark

Roger Leech, Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, England

Judy Marsh, Department of Canadian Heritage, Canada

Irina Oberlander-Tarnoveanu, Information Center for Culture and Heritage, Romania

Steve Stead, Consultant, PAVEPRIME, England

Gillian Quine, Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, England

Veletta Canouts, National Parks Service, USA

Trevor Reynolds, English Heritage, England

Dominique Guillot, Ministere de la Culture et de la Francophonie, France

Andrzej Prinke, Muzeum Archeologiczne, Poland

Nigel Clubb, National Monuments Records Centre, England

The sixth meeting of the working group took place on Wednesday, March 29 at the University of Leiden. Roger Leech opened the meeting by noting that regrets had been sent from Ingrid Coetzee (South Africa), Janet Deacon (South Africa) and Dr. Karega-Munene (Kenya). The minutes of the last meeting were accepted without correction. A short discussion followed regarding the joint meeting of the Council of Europe and CIDOC working groups to be held on March 30.

Several items of correspondence were tabled. A letter was received from the ICOM board requesting information about future work which might be carried out by the CIDOC Archaeological Sites Working Group. A letter was received from the CIDOC board regarding the future work of CIDOC and tentative dates and locations of future meetings. A CIDOC meeting has been scheduled for September, 1996 in Nairobi, Kenya. The 1997 meeting will be held September 7-11 in Nuremberg, Germany. he 1998 meeting will be held in October in conjunction with the ICOM meeting in Melbourne, Australia. The minutes of the CIDOC board meeting were also included. Copies of the CIDOC program for the meeting in Stavanger, Norway were circulated. A letter was received from Ingrid Coetzee responding positively to a suggestion regarding a session on archaeological site inventories at the Nairobi meeting. Roger will follow up. Judy Marsh tabled a letter from Josephine Nieuwenhuis verifying the inclusion of a reference to the CIDOC working group in the Minimum Information Categories for Museum Objects. Roger Leech reported that Eric Jondell (Norway) had been contacted and will hopefully join us in Norway.

Matters arising from the previous minutes:

1. Roger Leech circulated the second announcement for the Archaeological Heritage: Inventory and Documentation Standards in Europe conference, which will be held September 20-22, 1995 in Oxford, Great Britain.
2. Roger Leech announced that it is possible that papers from the World Archaeology Congress in New Delhi may be published with the papers from the Oxford conference . These proceedings will be published by the Council of Europe. Anyone presenting a paper at the conference will be eligible for a bursary.

The next item discussed was the Directory of National Records. Steve Stead reported that 109 replies have been received to date. All but two have been entered into the database. A rough report form has been prepared. This data will be given to Judy Marsh, who will prepare the document for publication. A lengthy discussion followed regarding the formatting and printing of the document. Judy Marsh noted that it may not be possible to use the CIDOC standard paper size if the document is to be printed in Canada. It was agreed that, if necessary, the directory could be printed on a non-standard (CIDOC standard) paper size. There followed another lengthy discussion regarding the future of the directory, including access (INTERNET?) and updating. There was agreement that upkeep of the directory should be discussed at Stavanger as part of the ongoing work of the group. Veletta Canouts agreed to produce a paper for the Stavanger meeting suggesting a strategy for dissemination and maintenance of both the Core Data Standard and the Directory. This paper will be prepared in both English and French. Veletta will liaise with Dominique Guillot.

The next item of discussion was the Core Data Standard. The number of copies to be printed was discussed and it was decided that 350 in English and 150 in French would be adequate. Verbal agreement has been received from Andrew Roberts that CIDOC will pay for the printing costs (estimated to be 750 pounds).

A long discussion followed concerning the presentation of the Core Data Standard in Stavanger. It was agreed that, should the document not be ready for dissemination in Stavanger, display copies will be available. Sale of the document was also discussed at length. It was finally decided that the document will be disseminated free of charge. Gillian Quine will speak to Alice Grant concerning the release of the Minimum Information Categories for Museum Objects. She will inquire about plans for the formal launch, number of copies to be produced and the cost. It was agreed that the timing and location of the launch would be left to Henrik Hansen, but it is preferred that it take place early in the week. The Royal Commission will subsidize the food for the launch but Roger Leech requested that each member of the working group contribute 1 litre of wine. Henrik Hansen will donate plastic glasses.

A timetable for the final production of the Core Data Standard was developed :

April 30 Text and all figures will be completed by Steve Stead and document will be ready for printing.

May 1 Steve Stead will forward completed document to Roger Leech (and a diskette to Dominique Guillot). Dominique Guillot will translate document. Roger and Dominique will then fax Judy Marsh the French and English versions.

May 22/23 Roger Leech will present the Core Data Standard at the Council of Europe meetings.

June 16 Roger Leech will inform Dominique Guillot where to send the French versions of the document.

June 23 Printed copies must be sent to Stavanger.

Editing of the Core Data Standard continued until late Thursday evening, with a short break on Thursday afternoon for a joint meeting of the Council of Europe and the CIDOC Archaeological Sites Working Groups was held. Minutes of this meeting are being prepared by Martin Barber (RCHME) and are available upon request.

Gillian Quine circulated a paper which she had prepared to summarize all comments received concerning the draft Core Data Standard. As a result of these comments, an extensive reorganization of the document then took place. Several smaller working groups took on various tasks. The chapters were re-ordered with new headings and some chapters were rewritten. The data model was moved to the end of the document. A first draft of a glossary was created. The French description of the DRACAR data model was translated into English.

The final agenda items were discussed very briefly and it was decided that Roger Leech will write to Andrew Roberts (chair, CIDOC) to indicate that the working group is interested in operating for another three years and that the election of officers will be on the agenda for the Stavanger meeting. Future projects for the group will be determined in Stavanger as well.

Roger Leech thanked all members for their participation and the meeting was adjourned.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES WORKING GROUP TASK LIST - MARCH 1995

GENERAL

1. Copy CIDOC program for Stavanger to all Working Group members. (JM)
2. Follow up on session on archaeological site inventories at Nairobi meeting. (RL)
3. Write to Andrew Roberts to indicate that the working group is interested in operating for another three years and that the election of officers will be on the agenda for the Stavanger meeting. (RL)
4. Copy Oxford agenda to all working group members. (GQ)

DIRECTORY OF NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORDS

1. Ensure that full copy of questionnaire is included with the published version of the directory. (JM)
2. Contact Cathy Judelson (Russian translator at WAC) regarding Russian contacts. (RL)
3. Contact Leonard Will regarding reimbursement for mailing costs. (SS)
4. Speak to Barbara Rottenburg regarding CIDOC format standards. If document is printed in Canada, standard CIDOC paper size may not be possible. (JM)
5. Obtain ISBN, CIPE numbers for directory. (GQ)
6. Produce strategy paper (in English and French) for Stavanger meeting regarding maintenance and dissemination of the directory. (VC, DG)
7. Prepare introduction to directory which will encompass the context of the directory being proposed (using Quebec City minutes). (JM)
8. Produce final version of directory and have 500 copies printed. (JM)

CORE DATA STANDARD

1. Obtain ISBN, CIPE numbers for Core Data Standard. (GQ)
2. Organize location and time for launch of Core Data Standard at Stavanger. (HH)
3. Complete final version of Core Data Standard. (SS, GQ - by April 30)
4. Forward document to Roger Leech and Dominique Guillot. (SS - by May 1)
5. Translate Core Data Standard into French. (DG)
6. Present Core Data Standard at Council of Europe meeting. (RL - May 22)
7. Arrange to have copies of Core Data Standard sent to Stavanger. (RL - by June 23)
8. Organize printing of English copies of Core Data Standard. (GQ)
9. Organize printing of French copies of Core Data Standard. (DG)f
10. Liaise with Alice Grant regarding launch of MICMO. (GQ)

NEXT MEETING

1. Organize food for launch. (RL)
2. Contribute 1 litre of wine for launch. (each group member)
3. Contribute plastic glasses for launch. (HH)