Industrial Archaeologies of Complex Palimpsests. Application of Semantic Web Technologies to Digitalise the Knowledge Path from Data to Interpretation

Semantic web technologies are today widely used across the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector for different scopes and activities during the building life cycle and the operation and maintenance phase. In the heritage field, the development of several methods to facilitate information exchange and interoperability between stakeholders represents a crucial issue in the current research scenario. Building information modelling and related technologies can address some of these challenges and limitations through relational database structure. However, there are still some open questions related to knowledge representation and management of complex heritage sites. This paper outlines the use of semantic web technologies and standards, such as Web Ontology Language and existing domain ontologies, to digitalize the knowledge path from data collection to interpretation for the documentation of heritage assets. Firstly, it briefly defines the methodologies, data structure, exchange formats, and relations of the different technology databases with their application in the digital interpretative processes. Then, the proposed framework is evaluated through an example of industrial archaeology application in a multi-layered historical site. The aim is to propose a framework to manage different information classes, inconsistencies and uncertainties, from preliminary data gathering and structuring to ontologies instantiation activity by representing the logical levels of connection. The final intent is to highlight the possibility of overcoming the limitations in the different heritage study and management approaches to give proper support during the decision-making process performed by multiple stakeholders.