What Are the Mission and Vision of Ariadne Project EU?

Updated

Ariadne Project EU is a European Commission-funded programme, running since February 2013, whose mission is to stimulate new research avenues in archaeology by comparing, re-using and integrating the outcomes of past and on-going field and laboratory work into current research. Its vision is to integrate archaeological information across all of Europe, starting with a digital archive that stores archaeological information. The programme is relevant to anyone trying to understand how European archaeological research is being connected and preserved — researchers, students, and institutions working with archaeological data.

Mission: Stimulating New Research in Archaeology

According to the programme's own description, the key objective is to stimulate new research avenues in the field of archaeology. It pursues this by relying on three connected activities:

  • Comparison of existing research outcomes
  • Re-use of results from earlier work
  • Integration of past and on-going field and laboratory activity into current research

In other words, the mission is not to run excavations itself, but to make the results of archaeological work more usable and cumulative across projects.

Vision: Integrating Archaeological Information Across Europe

The stated ambition is to integrate archaeological information across all of Europe. The programme frames this as a necessity for the discipline itself: archaeologists need to communicate with each other, moving beyond the conditions of antiquarians and becoming scientists. The site quotes Friedrich Wilhelm Gerhard, co-founder of the first international archaeological society, in support of this point.

The First Objective: A Digital Archive

The vision has a concrete starting point — providing a digital archive that would store archaeological information. This archive is presented as the foundation on which broader European integration of archaeological data can be built.

How Ariadne Fits Alongside Other EU Education and Technology Projects

The site also highlights related European initiatives, which helps clarify where Ariadne sits in the wider landscape:

Initiative Focus
Ariadne Project EU Integrating archaeological information and stimulating archaeological research
Responsive Open Learning Environment (ROLE) Learners creating their own learning environments; run by the EU with 16 research groups from 6 EU countries plus China
iTEC Europe Future classroom design ideas

Ariadne's own "What's New" section covers how technology and digitalisation help keep and organise knowledge and support education systems, with posts on archaeological discoveries in Europe, China-EU technology relations, and education technology programmes.

Key Takeaways

  • Ariadne is an EU-funded programme, not a single research project, and has existed since February 2013.
  • Its mission is to stimulate new archaeological research through comparison, re-use and integration of past and on-going work.
  • Its vision is Europe-wide integration of archaeological information, beginning with a digital archive.
  • A recurring theme is communication between archaeologists as the basis for treating archaeology as a modern scientific discipline.

For questions about the programme, the site directs visitors to contact the project directly.