Compared to the relational databases, an ontology is a more flexible and schema-less instrument that uses hierarchies of classes, properties, and individuals to order concepts[1]. For this reason, it is the best means for collating and processing large quantities of information. The built-in functions ensure a wide range of statistical charts and diagrams, that allow me to ponder the volume of pottery imports/exports, their distribution, and their changing proportions over time. Moreover, the ODB offers the opportunity to import data from existing datasets, export data in other formats, and address them to different research objectives. We will test the potential offered by free and open-source software Protégé to achieve this result.
[1] Van Helden, D., Y. Hong and P. Allison. 2018. Building an Ontology of Tablewares using 'Legacy Data', Internet Archaeology 50 https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue50/13/1.html