"Archeologia e Calcolatori". Le ragioni di una scelta

As Editor of the international Journal "Archeologia e Calcolatori", the author retraces the history of this editorial enterprise, which was established in 1989 by Mauro Cristofani and Riccardo Francovich. The Journal, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, is devoted to archaeological computing, a research sector characterised by the combining of information technologies with traditional archaeological methods. The path followed in the formulation of the editorial plan and its scientific coordination is reconstructed through various main stages: the reasons for the choice of the Journal's title, its field of application and chronological range; the description of the contemporary international panorama, still characterised by isolated initiatives; the members of the international Scientific Committee, all representatives of the major Italian and foreign institutions; the scientific contents, with particular emphasis on the publication of special thematic issues and international conference proceedings; the archaeological computing bibliography, an information tool as well as a practical approach to systematising this young discipline. The present-day editorial policy of "Archeologia e Calcolatori" is dedicated to increasing the visibility and on-line diffusion of the Journal, and in this way furthering its original purpose: acquiring sources of information, as well as providing them.