The Artefacts Project: An Encyclopaedia of Archaeological Small Finds

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            "Artefacts" database plotted spatially and chronologically          
© Fond de carte H. Bohbot 

I must admit that I did not know about this resource (artefacts.mom.fr) run by Michel Feugére  of Le Maison de l'Orient, Lyons until a collector alerted me to its existence and thought I'd spread the word:

Welcome! This is the "in progress" version of Artefacts©, Online Encyclopedia of Archaeological Small Finds. This database, in free access on the internet, reflects part of a working base to which many researchers have contributed. It allows simple, or more advanced searches. [...] [it is searchable] [...] Artefacts makes use of a 3-level hierarchy, on which chronology is added. Every object is attributed to a function, and any function enters a domain. For ex., a dice (code DEJ) belongs to the 'game and counting' function, which is part of the 'socio-cultural' domain. The aim of this system is to identify the primary function of artefacts, for which they were produced, not their eventual re-use in a secondary context (such as religious, or funerary). {...] Nature and aims of Artefacts
Artefacts is not a finished product, but a evolving programme reflecting the work of a group of researchers: the database can therefore be improved, and a careful user will find some mistakes which can be corrected as soon as we are informed. The aim of the project is to offer a survey, as complete as possible, of all forms of artefacts, arranged in wide periods. A corpus of finds is out of the question, Artefacts only aims to produce an inventory of forms (types) for which will be provided, as far as possible, a detailed description, a selected bibliography and a chronology. The objects mentioned and the illustrations are only here as examples. NB : all the material of Artefacts comes from legal archaeological research and scientific literature. [...] To become an Artefacts author, please send your scientific project to: artefacts[at]mom.fr

Become an author on Artefacts?
Are you interested in archaeological objects? Do you have your own set of data (museum collections, archaeological excavations...) and do you have some knowledge of image processing and office tools? Are you interested in typology? You have all the qualities required to become an author on Artefacts.
The status of author will allow you to work on all the pages of the site, whereas with your current status as a simple registered member, for the moment you can only add titles to the general bibliographic list. Although limited, this functionality nevertheless allows you to discover how the site works and its interfaces.
To request an author status, send us an a motivated request [...], the field you are interested in and the categories you propose to work on. We will contact you and support you in all the steps that will allow you to acquire your autonomy on the site.
Join now the 200 or so authors who are already working on the database!

Apparently, "Artefacts" compte à ce jour 21 454 fiches pour 194 466 objets inventoriés (accessibles aux auteurs). Up until now the encyclopaedia has been viewed by 301,917 visitors.  

I was chuffed by the unintentional impression given by the Gif on the webpage that European civilisation begins with Neolithic France and spreads out over Europe after that, before contacting to leave France the centre of Medieval civilisation.