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Workshop: Archaeology & Machine Learning (WAML24)

16th September 2024, Paris

The French School of Asian Studies (EFEO)

22 Avenue du Président Wilson, 75116 Paris, France

Objective

Our workshop aims to bridge the gap between the fields of archaeology and machine learning, bringing together experts from both communities to build connections and identify potential collaboration directions.

We will explore how the latest advances in machine learning can be applied to digital humanities problems, and how archaeology's problematics and datasets can inspire new directions in machine learning research.

About archaeoscape.ai

This workshop is organized by the archaeoscape.ai lab at the French School of Asian Studies (EFEO), established by the late Damian Evans, a pioneer in LiDAR archaeology whose work redefined our understanding of Angkor and the hydraulic management systems of the Khmer Empire. With access to more than 7,000 km² of ALS coverage, our lab studies rainforest civilizations in Southeast Asia with traditional approaches as well as modern computer vision methods.

With our interdisciplinary research focus, we’re increasingly aware of the abundance of opportunities for cross-field collaboration, and we are eager to discuss them. This event will provide an opportunity to exchange such ideas, share progress from our ERC-funded project, and honor Damian's legacy.

Invited speakers

Jean Ponce

Jean Ponce

Professor, ENS

Mathieu Aubry

Mathieu Aubry

Senior ML Researcher, ENPC

Jean-Emmanuel Deschaud

Jean-Emmanuel Deschaud

Associate Professor, Mines ParisTech

Marco Corneli

Marco Corneli

Junior Professor, Université Côte d'Azur

Vanna Lisa Coli

Vanna Lisa Coli

Junior Fellow, Université Côte d'Azur

Elliot Vincent

Elliot Vincent

ML Engineer, IGN

Mathilde Mura

Mathilde Mura

Researcher, ArScAn

Mailane Messias-Sampaio

Mailane Messias-Sampaio

ECHOES Project Manager, CNRS

Jonathan Chemla

Jonathan Chemla

CTO, ICONEM

Anne Violaine Szabados

Anne-Violaine Szabados

Research Engineer, CNRS

Livestream

The workshop talks will be available via livestream, split into two parts:

The livestreams will be publicly available.

Schedule

9:00-9:30 Coffee and desserts
9:30-11:00
Opening:
  • LiDAR archaeology at EFEO / Christophe Pottier, Vladyslav Sydorov
  • Archaeoscape ML dataset / Adam Wijker, Yohann Perron
  • Consortium-HN pictorIA / Anne-Violaine Szabados
11:00-11:30 Break
11:30-12:30
Talks I:
  • Digital Pompeii: The Villa of Diomedes / Jean Ponce (ENS-PSL), Hélène Dessales (ENS-PSL, UNIL)
  • Riedones3D: a Celtic coin dataset / Jean-Emmanuel Deschaud
12:30-14:00 Cambodian buffet
14:00-15:15
Talks II:
  • Species identification via topological data analysis / Marco Corneli
  • Creating a classification system for looting pits and trends / Mathilde Mura
  • Research at ICONEM / Jonathan Chemla
15:15-15:45 Break
15:45-17:00
Talks III:
  • DAFA Looted Sites dataset (DAFA-LS) / Elliot Vincent
  • AIKON: a web platform to empower Historians with Computer Vision tools / Mathieu Aubry
  • European Cloud for Heritage OpEnScience (ECHOES): Preserving the Past, Shaping the Future / Mailane Messias-Sampaio
17:00
Closing notes
17:30 Drinks

Talks

LiDAR Archaeology Image

LiDAR archaeology at EFEO / Christophe Pottier, Vladyslav Sydorov

Peeking through the vegetation, mapping the unknown, revealing the forgotten. A look at EFEO's remote sensing research, along with a preview of our current efforts at archaeoscape.ai.

Archaeoscape ML dataset / Adam Wijker, Yohann Perron

Our recent submission, the first open-access LiDAR archaeology dataset and benchmark, spanning 888 km² and 31,141 features, and discuss its unique challenges.

PictorIA teaser

Consortium-HN pictorIA / Anne-Violaine Szabados

Dedicated to developing shared protocols, training courses, workshops, and prototypes, pictorIA aims to enhance accessibility for AI applications in visual culture within the digital humanities.

Digital Pompeii teaser

Digital Pompeii: The Villa of Diomedes / Jean Ponce (ENS-PSL), Hélène Dessales (ENS-PSL, UNIL)

A multidisciplinary initiative that combines archaeology and computer vision to create a comprehensive digital reconstruction and in-depth analysis of the villa's remains.

Riedones3D dataset image

Riedones3D: a Celtic coin dataset / Jean-Emmanuel Deschaud

Showcasing a new 3D dataset of 2,070 celtic coin scans, offering benchmarks for point cloud registration and fine-grained clustering.

DAFA-LS dataset image

DAFA Looted Sites dataset (DAFA-LS) / Elliot Vincent

A novel dataset for detecting looted archaeological sites from satellite image time series, containing 55,480 images over 8 years across 675 Afghan archaeological sites.

Marco Corneli teaser

Species identification via topological data analysis / Marco Corneli

Case study of topological data analysis (TDA) and multiple kernel learning (MKL) for inter-specific identification of 150 3D astragali belonging to modern and archaeological specimens.

Mathilde Mura teaser

Creating a classification system for looting pits and trends / Mathilde Mura

Work on classifying damage to archaeological sites in regions affected by contemporary conflicts and military occupation, uncovering patterns and trends in looting and various forms of erosion.

Vanna Lisa Coli teaser

Modelling of Neolithic pottery forming techniques / Vanna Lisa Coli

Presentation on a mathematical characterisation of pottery forming sequence based on tomographic data of archaeological and experimental sherds.

Mathieu Aubry teaser

AIKON: a web platform to empower Historians with Computer Vision tools / Mathieu Aubry

Unveiling the AIKON platform for analyzing large-scale digitized document collections. This open-source, modular platform is built to easily integrate new computer vision and AI tools. The initial release includes modules for extracting illustrations, comparing them across documents, and vectorizing mathematical diagrams. It was initially designed for historians of science as part of the ANR VHS and EIDA projects and the ERC DISCOVER project.

ECHOES teaser

European Cloud for Heritage OpEnScience (ECHOES): Preserving the Past, Shaping the Future / Mailane Messias-Sampaio

The ECHOES project aims to create a collaborative digital cloud for Europe’s cultural heritage. Led by CNRS, the initiative fosters collaboration, integrates digital tools, and supports the digital transformation of cultural institutions across Europe.

Join us at the venue

Ask to attend at EFEO Paris!

The online stream requires no registration. Please only register if you will attend in person.

Organizers

For inquiries, please contact us at: archaeoscape@efeo.net