A unified approach for fast Cultural Goods on site docu- mentation and support multidisciplinary stakeholders fighting illicit trafficking

Abstract. This study presents a unified approach to the rapid on-site documentation of cultural goods, tailored to support multidisciplinary stakeholders, including Law Enforcement Agency (LEA) officers and archaeologists, in the fight against illicit trafficking that was developed during the implementation of the EU funded project ENIGMA (DOI:10.3030/101094237) under GA 101094237. The framework emphasizes the use of standardized data models and vocabularies toensure consistency, interoperability, and efficient data exchange across diverse systems and stakeholders. At its core, the proposed methodology enables LEAofficers to conduct fast, structured documentation of cultural goods directly at the site. Leveraging advanced tools, officers can capture critical data, includingdescriptive information, photos and metadata, which is seamlessly integrated into a centralized system. This data is immediately accessible to expert archaeologists and other specialists, allowing for near-real-time analysis, provenance verification, and enhanced decision-making.By combining rapid on-site documentation with standardized data structures and real-time collaboration, this approach addresses key challenges in cultural goodsmanagement, including data fragmentation and delayed processing. The system not only accelerates the identification and protection of cultural heritage but also fosters effective cross-disciplinary collaboration, representing a significant advancement in efforts to combat the illicit trafficking of cultural goods. All theseare provided under a unified digital design and implementation to assist archaeologists and Law Enforcement Agency (LEA) personnel in the methodical ex-amination and recording of cultural goods (CGs). This application streamlines workflows and decision-making processes by combining several capabilities intoa single web-based user interface. In this context the LEA personnel initiate the operational framework by performing initial screenings, which include itemscanning, document verification, and database searches for any connections to illegal trafficking. Cases are given to experts, including archaeologists, for further investigation, and they add detailed studies to the original data.