Arches Heritage Inventory and Management System

For a more recent update on Arches 3.0, visit: http://opensourcegisblog.blogspot.com/2015/05/arches-30-released-for-heritage.html


If you have taken or even thought of taking an anthropology course, you will understand the need for Arches. Arches is an open-source based heritage inventory and management system.   It was envisioned and created by the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI).  Code is currently available for download. A more advanced version is expected in July. 

"Arches has been purpose-built for the international cultural heritage field, and can be used to inventory and document all types of immovable heritage, including buildings and other structures, cultural landscapes, heritage ensembles or districts, as well as archaeological sites."

On the Arches website, you will also find interesting background information about similar systems being deployed: http://archesproject.org/project-background/.  Also be sure to check about their FAQ page: http://archesproject.org/faq/ or view the factsheet.

For a quick hands-on-feel, quick out a demo from an earlier version of the tool using Jordan and search for a site like Petra and explore a few different areas.  You will notice familiar features, like web-based mapping from OpenLayers.