[Qgis-user] Question: Using QGIS for archaeological documentation workflows

[Tobias Schula]

Am 28.11.25 um 14:37 schrieb Herrmann, Frank via QGIS-User:

> Before making internal decisions, we would like to learn from the experience of the QGIS community, especially from people who have used QGIS in archaeological or heritage-related projects.

I don't use QGIS for Archaeology per se, but for forest management 
plans. Since forest soil is usually undisturbed for centuries, the 
forests are full of historic and archaeologic sites ("Bodendenkmäler").

It is vital in forest management that these sites stay undisturbed. So 
in preparation of a management plan I use officially/openly available 
data of the Bodendenkmäler and I also check the DGM if there are any 
abnormalities or distinctive features visible. I mark everything on a 
map that I'll load into QField and check the sites when I'm on location.

> I would be very grateful for any insights on the following questions:
> 
> Do you use QGIS only as a GIS client, or have you also used it for documentation/database-like workflows in archaeology or cultural heritage?

I use it in documentation/database-like workflow for forest management. 
If I have the data available, I will load past management plans to track 
the changes to the new management plan. I mostly use Spatialite and 
occasionally PostGIS. Both have the benefit of being able to use a 
variety of tools to extract data from and write data into the database. 
For the management plans I have a couple of R-scripts with a collection 
of functions in combination with SQL-script templates.

In the past I've also used LibreOffice Base to manage the data and bring 
it into reports.

> Are there known limitations when using QGIS for long-term excavation documentation, metadata management or multi-user environments?

I strongly recommend to do any documentation, metadata and multi-user 
management in a database. There are no specific limitations when using 
QGIS, the limitations are more on the database side.

> Do you have recommendations for combining QGIS with external databases (e.g., PostgreSQL/PostGIS, SQLite/Geopackage)?

Geopackage works great a data exchange format and as a singe-user 
database. Although for the latter, I prefer Spatialite, as it has more 
functions in the database. For multi-user, (incremental) backups, 
version control there is no way around PostGIS.

Generally, I strongly recommend to use a Free Software/Open Source 
solution. For your specific use case you will easily pay the same if not 
more for a proprietary CAD/GIS solution, but then no-one else can 
benefit from your specific developments and licensing internally in your 
org is a hassle. One forest administration that I know is set on ESRI 
products since decades, but the licensing and distribution restrictions 
now lead to a lot of workers using QGIS for their tasks. So now they 
have two GIS infrastructures, one official and expensive, on informal 
with no proper documentation or backup strategy. It's the same as the 
uncontrolled distribution of macro-ladden Excel-sheets in large 
organizations.

If you don't have the expertise in-house, you should hire a consultation 
agency to help you set up a database schema and an initial workflow. 
QGIS specific and already in the market with a lot of solutions for the 
public sector, norbit GmbH comes to my mind. They are also contributors 
to QGIS: https://www.norbit.de/

Best regards

-- 
Tobias A Schula
Forestry Expert

geospatial at schula.org

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