The digital archaeology team engages with many facets of the Kelsey Museum’s activities in Ann Arbor and abroad. Below are examples of the kinds of work we do.
Databases
The Kelsey Museum hosts a publicly accessible database of its collection through the U-M Library. The digital team is hard at work updating information in the database, integrating with external resources, expanding our photographic coverage, and generally improving the database’s usefulness as a tool for research and teaching. We also maintain detailed internal records of our objects’ provenances, conservation treatments, publication and exhibition histories, use in classes, and more in order to support museum operations and academic research.
The public dataset can be downloaded as a single CSV or XML file for scholars interested in exploring collections as data. We welcome inquiries from researchers and instructors who are interested in using this resource.
3D Digitization
The DiSKO project, launched in 2019 with support from the Office of the Provost, provides digital 3D models of Kelsey Museum artifacts for instructors, students, researchers, and the general public to engage with and use. Since 2025, the museum has begun expanding this work by incorporating equipment and techniques for capturing challenging objects like shiny coins, tiny amulets, transparent glass, and items with faded pigments, and we are now cross-posting our models on Sketchfab, taking advantage of the platform’s realistic lighting and adding our voice to the site’s robust cultural heritage community. We are actively investigating ways to further expand our use of 3D digitization at the museum, including through 3D printing, digital reconstructions, and in-gallery augmented reality experiences.
Fieldwork
We also conduct research on archaeological field methods, particularly pertaining to digital data. Our unit’s unique position at an archaeology museum enables us to develop and practice methods in a controlled, replicable environment before adapting those methods and deploying them in the field for excavation, survey, and artifact study.
Training and Research Support
We support the research of affiliated students, faculty, and staff by offering training and advice and by designing systems for recording, managing, analyzing, publishing, and archiving digital cultural heritage data.
