Why Another Archaeology Software When So Many Solutions Already Exist?

An obvious question is why go into the effort of writing a new piece of archaeological software when a plethora of existing solutions are available (Google "archaeology management software" for examples). A few considerations led to this decision:

• Financial:
  Some tools are either costly or require costly hardware (the iPad comes to mind). Unlike excavations with strong institutional support and the ability to use cutting-edge technologies (e.g., iDig, Pompeii), the Jezreel Project team chose not to invest its modest budget on such gadgets. Self-hosting is currently the cheapest solution for any less-than-trivial web-presence.

• Complexity:
  Some available solutions are extremely complex and unnecessary for the project's needs (e.g., OCHRE, Arches). In addition, emphasis on GIS/Total Station integration was deemed unnecessary.

• Lack of web support:
  Some software tools are not web-based (e.g., FileMaker-based tools like STRATUM) and cannot be adapted easily for web use/publication.

• Lack of support for web publication:
  Some web-based software tools were designed for data management, not for web publication (e.g., Codifi, diggit).

• Lack of web collaboration capabilities:
  Some web publication solutions (e.g., Open Context) guarantee future availability but do not allow for modifications once the data are published.

• The thrill of writing bespoke software for a project's specific needs.