Pejam Hassanzadeh did his master’s thesis on designing and developing a prototype of a citizen science platform for the SuALT project in Semantic Computing Research Group at Aalto University. The prototype aims to facilitate the reporting process of archaeological finds and also visualise available archaeological data which is collected by citizens.

The prototype (FindSampo) is designed adopting a mobile-first and user-centred design in order to enable potential users to report their finds effortlessly and also study diversely archaeological data. FindSampo is developed using Semantic Web and emerging Web development technologies.

In his thesis, Hassanzadeh points out that the developed prototype takes the current state of archaeological resources a step further by means of citizen science, Semantic Web and emerging Web development technologies. The evaluation of the prototype and user experience surveys also reveal that the platform improves significantly archaeological data collection, analysis and interpretation processes. Furthermore, it provides further research opportunities by visualising archaeological data as well as improving its availability and accessibility.

The prototype finds reporting system is an important output of the SuALT project, as it points to future ways of incorporating citizen science more fully into existing practices.