The paper proposes an information technology framework for the development of an\nembedded remote system for non-destructive observation and study of sensitive archaeological sites.\nThe overall concept and motivation are described. The general hardware layout and software\nconfiguration are presented. The paper concentrates on the implementation of the following\ninformational technology components: (a) a geographically unique identification scheme supporting\na global key space for a key-value store; (b) a common method for octree modeling for spatial\ngeometrical models of the archaeological artifacts, and abstract object representation in the global key\nspace; (c) a broadcast of the archaeological information as an Extensible Markup Language (XML)\nstream over the Web for worldwide availability; and (d) a set of testing methods increasing the fault\ntolerance of the system. This framework can serve as a foundation for the development of a complete\nsystem for remote archaeological exploration of enclosed archaeological sites like buried churches,\ntombs, and caves. An archaeological site is opened once upon discovery, the embedded computer\nsystem is installed inside upon a robotic platform, equipped with sensors, cameras, and actuators,\nand the intact site is sealed again. Archaeological research is conducted on a multimedia data stream\nwhich is sent remotely from the system and conforms to necessary standards for digital archaeology.
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