Cataloguing an archaeological item calls forth accurate analyses and research in order to determine its correct place in space and time and to envisage its proper conservation and appraisal. The use of computer science for cataloguing purposes has enabled archaeologists not only to take advantage of a rapid and effective research tool, but also to process and analyse relational information that would otherwise be difficult to achieve when using traditional paper cards.

In a large number of countries the first computer applications date back to the early 1960s. These pioneer experiments developed along with important projects of national heritage inventory, which were planned by public institutions in charge of documentation and preservation (e.g., the English Heritage in Great Britain, the Inventaire général in France, and the Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione in Italy). The introduction of computer tools brought about new issues linked to data processing and language standardisation, i.e. how to describe similar objects homogeneously, in order to allow full information recording and retrieval from databases especially tailored to catalogue archaeological items or monuments.

In Italy a crucial contribution was given by the Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione (ICCD). Established in 1975 along with the institution of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, ICCD was directed from its foundation up to 1990 by Oreste Ferrari. An art historian and member of the Accademia dei Lincei, he soon supported the automation of the Italian Catalogue and monitored the difficult transition from typewritten cataloguing cards to electronic documents processable through an IRS approach. Over the years, controlled vocabularies, thesauri, standards for the compilation of cards and specific software, like SAXA and DESC, were promoted.

In the 1970s, the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa was deeply involved in the production of glossaries and thesauri for the art-historical sector, in collaboration with the Accademia della Crusca and the John Paul Getty Trust in Los Angeles. The research…