MonumentsEncodes

MonumentsEncodes is a proposed data encoding framework designed to represent the metadata, inscriptions, and contextual information of architectural monuments in digital archives. The goal is to enable interoperability between conservation databases, museum catalogs, and scholarly editions while preserving multilingual inscriptions and precise spatial-temporal data.

Its data model centers on a hierarchical structure that can model a monument as a top-level object, with nested levels such as Site, Structure, Feature, and Inscription. Inscription records include language, script, transliteration, translation, dating, and provenance. The framework also captures geographic coordinates, materials, construction techniques, and conservation history, all with traceable provenance and versioning.

MonumentsEncodes recommends using established semantic web technologies, including RDF and JSON-LD, and aligns with CIDOC CRM-compatible vocabularies for cross-domain interoperability. The namespace me: provides a compact set of classes (for example me:Monument, me:Inscription, me:Coordinate) and properties such as me:hasInscription and me:locatedAt.

History and adoption: the framework emerged in the early 2010s from a consortium of heritage organizations and academic researchers. Pilot projects have tested data model mappings to existing catalogs and digitized inscriptions. Adoption remains limited but growing, aided by efforts to harmonize with CIDOC CRM and TEI for textual encoding.

Applications include robust digital catalogs, supports for virtual restoration planning, multilingual scholarly editions, and data-driven conservation analysis. Challenges include accommodating diverse scripts, licensing restrictions on inscriptions, and the complexity of linking physical objects to digital records.

See also CIDOC CRM, TEI, IIIF, digital heritage metadata.