The Reference Library Initiative

Help build the Artifact ID Reference Library

Your collection can help preserve knowledge for generations.

Artifact ID exists to preserve, organize, and make artifact knowledge more accessible. By documenting authentic artifacts with high-quality imagery, provenance information, and responsible attribution, contributors help build a reference library that can support collectors, researchers, education, preservation, and the next generation of responsible identification technology.

Preserve the past. Build the reference library of the future.

Contribute an Artifact

Early contributors may be recognized as Founding Artifact ID Contributors.

Why contribute

Every well-documented artifact makes the reference library stronger

Preserve knowledge

Digitally document important artifacts so their detail and context survive for future generations.

Advance identification

Help build higher-quality reference material for responsible identification technology.

Build the reference library

Contributed specimens may help strengthen Artifact ID's structured research database.

Receive attribution

Choose public collection attribution, "Private Collection," or remain entirely private.

Artifact ID reviews every submission. Not all submissions are accepted or published.

1Contributor information

Full legal name*

Used for the contributor agreement. Never published automatically.

Email address*

Never included in public datasets.

Public display name

Collection name

Affiliation / organization

Website or social profile

Attribution preference* Use my public name / collection name when appropriate Credit as "Private Collection" Do not publicly identify me

Your legal identity is stored separately from public attribution.

I would like to be considered for Founding Contributor recognition.

2Artifact information

Artifact / type name*

If unknown, describe it plainly.

Category*

Subtype / variant

Material

Length

Width

Thickness

Measurement unit

Weight

Weight unit

Estimated cultural period

Estimated age / date range

Cultural affiliation (if known)

Your identification confidence

Contributor identification is recorded as your assessment, never as verified fact.

3Photographs

Four photographs are required. Add at least one of each view below. After adding a photograph you can set or change its view type using the menu on its thumbnail.

Front / obverse — the face of the artifact, squared to the camera. Not yet added.
Back / reverse — the opposite face, in the same lighting. Not yet added.
Profile / edge — viewed side-on, to show thickness and cross-section. Not yet added.
Scale / reference — the artifact beside a measuring scale. Not yet added.

What counts as a scale reference: a millimetre or inch ruler, a printed photographic scale bar, or a coin of a stated denomination. Lay it flat beside the artifact — never on top of it — with both in focus. A hand, a keyboard, or any object of unstated size is not a usable scale.

Photograph in even, indirect light against a plain neutral background, with the artifact filling most of the frame.

Add photographs

Drag and drop, or tap to choose from your camera or photo library

JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC or HEIF · up to 15 MB each · 4–12 photographs · you can select several at once

0 photographs added (4 required) Originals are stored privately and never made public automatically.

4Provenance

Please provide only a general location. Do not submit exact archaeological site coordinates or sensitive site information.

Country*

State / province

County / general region

Optional. General only.

Approximate acquisition / find date

Acquisition method*

Previous collection / owner (if known)

Collection history

General provenance notes

If provenance is uncertain, say so. Unknown is a valid and valuable answer.

5Contributor release & use policy

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Contributor Release & Use Policy

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By accepting below, you confirm each of the following:

I am at least 18 years old and have authority to enter into this agreement.
I created these photographs or otherwise have authority to license them to Artifact ID.
To the best of my knowledge, the artifact is lawfully possessed and was not knowingly illegally excavated, stolen, trafficked, removed from protected federal land, removed from Tribal land without lawful authority, removed from a burial, or obtained in violation of applicable cultural-resource laws.
I am not knowingly submitting human remains, items containing human remains, objects known to have been removed from graves, known funerary objects, known sacred objects, known objects of cultural patrimony, or materials I know to be subject to a repatriation, ownership, theft, or law-enforcement claim.
I grant Artifact ID a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, transferable and sublicensable license to the Submitted Materials as described in the Contributor Release & Use Policy — including reproduction, derivative works, publication and distribution, and use in research, education, commercial products and services, licensed datasets, computer vision, AI and machine-learning development.
I have read the Artifact ID Contributor Release & Use Policy shown above.

I have read and agree to the Artifact ID Contributor Release & Use Policy above, and I confirm each of the six statements listed above.

Type your full legal name to sign

Signed on

6Review & submit

Your photographs upload directly to private Artifact ID storage. Submitting records your agreement acceptance, version and timestamp. Submission does not mean an artifact has been authenticated, appraised or verified.

Help build the Artifact ID Reference Library

Every well-documented artifact makes the reference library stronger

Preserve knowledge

Advance identification

Build the reference library

Receive attribution

Add photographs

Contributor Release & Use Policy

Thank you for helping build the Artifact ID Reference Library.