Download and reuse Dynamic Collections

We are pleased to share the main code and software behind Dynamic Collections Plus, the web platform developed at DARKLab, Lund University, for building, curating, visualising, and sharing digital collections of archaeological artefacts.

The release is intended to support researchers, heritage institutions, students, and developers who wish to explore, install, adapt, or contribute to the platform. By making the software available, we want to encourage transparency, reuse, collaboration, and long-term development within the digital archaeology and cultural heritage community.

Dynamic Collections Plus is designed for working with archaeological materials in a structured and collaborative way. The platform supports the management of artefacts, 3D models, images, videos, documents, metadata, and paradata. It also includes tools for browser-based 3D visualisation, media management, thematic collections, interactive maps, timelines, and multi-institutional data management.

The source code is available through the DARKLab GitHub repository, and the software release is also archived on Zenodo for long-term access and citation.

How to access the software

You can access the software in two ways:

GitHub repository
The current source code, documentation, configuration files, and installation instructions are available here:
Dynamic Collections Plus on GitHub

Zenodo release
The archived software release is available here for long-term access, citation, and research documentation:
Dynamic Collections Plus on Zenodo

What is included

The downloadable version includes the main Dynamic Collections Plus platform. It provides:

• an artefact catalogue with structured metadata and controlled vocabularies;
• support for 3D models, images, videos, documents, and bibliographic references;
• an interactive 3D viewer based on 3DHOP, with tools for measurement and sectioning;
• tools for creating and managing thematic collections;
• an interactive map for visualising artefact provenance;
• a timeline for browsing collections chronologically;
• multi-institution support, where different organisations can manage their own material;
• role-based user management for administrators, supervisors, and authors;
• documentation and configuration files for local installation.

The platform is distributed as a Docker-based application, with a PHP/Apache web container and a MySQL database container. This makes it possible to install and test the system locally or deploy it on a server, depending on the needs of the institution or research project.

Who is this for?

The release is intended for anyone interested in digital archaeology, 3D cultural heritage, research data management, digital collections, and web-based archaeological infrastructures.

It may be useful for:

• museums and heritage organisations that want to manage and share 3D archaeological materials;
• researchers working with digital archives, 3D models, and structured archaeological data;
• teachers who want to use digital artefacts in university courses;
• developers interested in contributing to open research infrastructure;
• projects that want to experiment with digital curation, annotation, and reuse of archaeological records.

For Swedish institutions and researchers

If you are a Swedish institution, museum, heritage organisation, or researcher based in Sweden, we strongly encourage you to contribute directly to the current Dynamic Collections infrastructure rather than setting up a separate installation.

Uploading your collections to the existing Dynamic Collections platform helps make Swedish archaeological 3D data more connected, visible, reusable, and sustainable. It also supports a shared national infrastructure where materials can be curated, accessed, and interpreted within a common research environment.

This is often the best option if your aim is to make your collection available to students, researchers, heritage professionals, or the wider community.

Technical contact

For questions about installation, deployment, or technical development, please contact:

Giuseppe Naponiello
giuseppe.naponiello@ark.lu.se

Licence and reuse

The Dynamic Collections Plus source code is released under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later. The documentation is released under CC BY 4.0, while the database schema and base data are released under CC0 1.0.

Users are encouraged to consult the repository documentation and licence information before installing, modifying, or redistributing the software.

How to cite

If you use, install, adapt, or build on Dynamic Collections Plus, please cite the software:
Naponiello, G., Marco, C., Dell'Unto, N., & Lund University Digital Archaeology Lab-DARKLab. (2026). Dynamic Collections Plus (v1.0.1). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20669651
For a specific release, cite the version DOI shown on its Zenodo page (e.g. v1.0.1 → https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20669651).

A shared infrastructure for digital archaeology

Sharing the Dynamic Collections software is part of DARKLab’s broader commitment to open, transparent, and reusable digital archaeological infrastructure.

We hope this release will support new collaborations, make it easier to build sustainable digital collections, and contribute to a wider discussion on how archaeological data, 3D models, and digital archives can be preserved, studied, and reused over time.