Digital Archaeological Primary Documentation Data in Baden-Württemberg (Germany). The LAD-BW's Path from Standards to Archives

The paper presents the current state of long-term data storage for archaeological primary documentation data at the Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Baden-Württemberg (LAD-BW). A central long-term repository was established in 2016 due to the significant increase in digital primary documentation data, driven by a rise in construction activities and associated rescue excavations in recent years, with the latter increasingly being carried out by archaeological service companies since 2016. Since 2018, guidelines have defined data structures and formats, and a central project identifier. Metadata and essential information (e.g. excavation reports and selected photographs) provided in the ADABweb information system ensure internal findability. The repository currently contains more than 6400 data packages (70 TB, as of July 2025).

Data analyses revealed heterogeneous data structures (particularly from 2000–2017), ongoing format diversity, and storage usage of which roughly 90% is accounted for by image data (JPG/TIFF). One major focus concerns the handling of structure-from-motion (SfM) data, with large volumes of JPG raw data and Metashape project files being deposited between 2018 and 2021; the latter are proprietary and not preservation-ready. Within the framework of a 'legacy data project', selection, data hygiene and migration are being implemented under clearly defined rules and documented as standardised processes.

Outlook: Revising the excavation guidelines and developing new target systems (including a geodatabase) aims to facilitate the creation of guideline-compliant data and strengthen the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) principles, particularly through standardised, centralised metadata and an interconnected knowledge base. Two open access publication series (project 'Pilotprojekt In-wertsetzung Ausgrabung (PIA)') accelerate the dissemination of excavation results and, in part, the publication of associated research data.

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• Keywords: archaeological primary documentation data, digital legacy data, long-term data preservation, format migration, data management workflows, standardised processes, State Office for Cultural Heritage Baden-Württemberg (LAD-BW), NFDI4Objects
• Accepted: November 2025. Published: March 2026
• Funding: The publication of this article is funded by the European Archaeological Council.
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