Semantic & Ontological Modelling in Protégé

Turn Archaeological Data into Structured Knowledge

Discover how ontologies can help organise archaeological information into structured, interoperable, and reusable knowledge.

This intensive hands-on workshop introduces the fundamentals of semantic and ontological modelling using Protégé, the world’s leading open-source ontology editor.

Working with real archaeological datasets, participants will learn how to model archaeological concepts, transform tabular data into semantic resources, and understand the principles behind ontology-driven data management.

Workshop at a Glance

Pre-registration

Participation is free of charge, but places are limited to 10 participants to ensure an interactive learning environment and personalised support.

If you would like to attend, please complete the pre-registration form:

Pre-registration Form

Applications will be reviewed by the organising committee. Selected participants will receive a confirmation email with practical information before the workshop.

Why Attend?

Archaeological research is becoming increasingly digital.

Excavations, GIS, archaeometry, remote sensing, historical sources, and museum collections generate vast amounts of information every day. Yet these datasets often remain fragmented, difficult to integrate, and challenging to reuse.

Ontologies provide an effective framework for organising archaeological knowledge in a structured and consistent way, facilitating interoperability, documentation, and long-term reuse.

This workshop offers a practical introduction to semantic modelling, enabling participants to acquire skills that can be immediately applied to archaeological research and cultural heritage documentation.

Why It Matters

Semantic modelling is becoming an essential component of digital archaeology and cultural heritage management.

Research institutions, museums, and international infrastructures increasingly rely on ontologies to organise, connect, and preserve archaeological information according to shared standards.

By learning the fundamentals of ontology modelling in Protégé, participants will acquire practical skills that provide a solid foundation for future work with Semantic Web technologies.

Who Should Attend?

This workshop is intended for:

• Master’s students
• PhD candidates
• Archaeologists
• Museum and cultural heritage professionals
• Digital Humanities researchers
• Anyone interested in semantic technologies and archaeological data management

No previous knowledge of programming, RDF, ontologies, or Semantic Web technologies is required.

What You Will Learn

Using real archaeological datasets, participants will learn how to:

• Navigate the Protégé interface and understand its main functionalities.
• Design a simple ontology for archaeological data.
• Create and organise classes, object properties, data properties, and individuals.
• Define domains, ranges, hierarchies, and basic logical restrictions.
• Validate ontological models using Protégé’s built-in reasoning tools.
• Transform archaeological tabular datasets into RDF/OWL triples suitable for semantic modelling.
• Import and manage RDF/OWL data within Protégé.

Participants will also receive a brief introduction to:

• the principles of the Semantic Web;
• FAIR data and Linked Open Data;
• the CIDOC CRM conceptual model;
• the SPARQL query language and its role in semantic data retrieval.

These topics will be presented as an introduction and contextual framework rather than covered in depth.

Software and Technologies

The workshop focuses primarily on Protégé for ontology development.

Participants will also become familiar with the concepts behind:

• Protégé
• RDF
• OWL
• CIDOC CRM
• SPARQL
• Linked Open Data
• FAIR Data

All software used during the workshop is freely available.

Please download Protégé before the workshop to make the most of the practical sessions.

Recommended Resources

Participants wishing to continue exploring semantic modelling after the workshop may find the following resources useful.

Workshop Material

Ducati, F. (2025). Shaping Archaeological Knowledge: Practical Guide to Semantic and Ontological Modelling in Archaeology with Protégé 5.6.4. Doctoral course material, University of Bologna, Italy. HAL: ⟨hal-05456050⟩

Protégé Tutorials

De Bellis, M. (2021). A Practical Guide to Building OWL Ontologies Using Protégé 5.5 and 5.6. An updated version of the well-known Pizza Tutorial, including introductory sections on reasoning, SPARQL, SWRL, and SHACL.

Access the tutorial

Recommended Reading

van Helden, D., Hong, Y., & Allison, P. (2018). Building an Ontology of Tablewares Using “Legacy Data”. Internet Archaeology, 50. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.50.13

Official Documentation

Protégé Wiki – Tutorials, documentation, and user guides for Protégé Desktop.

CIDOC CRM – Official conceptual reference model for cultural heritage documentation.