Introduction Basic Principles What is archaeology? Why are archaeological projects undertaken Project Planning Pre project planning stage Aim Objective Resources Permissions Project timetable Risk assessments and Insurance Writing a project brief and specification Project check-list Fieldwork and research stage Be organised Don’t interpret too soon Report writing stage Archiving Outreach activities Tools Tapes Pegs Compass Planning frame Level Total station Digging tools Personal tools Technique Modules Surveying Introduction to surveying How are archaeological surveys different? Types of features to survey Measuring units Drawing scales Changing drawing scale What scale to use? Where am I? Photographic survey Walkover survey Sketch survey Measured drawing Tape survey Total station survey Levelling Buildings and standing structures Recording building elevations with rectified photography (simple) Surveying with navigation grade GPS (Global Positioning System) Excavation Introduction The unrepeatable experiment Should you be excavating? Excavation check list Thinking about excavation Understanding the buried environment The impact of the post excavation environment Interpretation Styles of excavation How to dig? Excavation safe working practice Risks for excavators Recording the evidence The archive The drawn record Plans Sections The written record The photographic record Lighting Artefact recording Excavation recording check list Module references Post Excavation Conservation planning Fieldwork Artefact processing and analysis Condition assessment Identification Documenting finds Cleaning Sorting, sampling and discarding Further investigations and recording Conservation Preparing the artefact archive Packaging Labelling, marking etc. Analysing the paper records Drawing preparation Determining the site stratigraphy Bringing together the evidence Relative to absolute dates Typological sequences Absolute dating Understanding Post excavation check-list Module references Online resources Finds Illustration Tools and materials Worked flints Pottery Iron Wood Glass Architectural details Module references Photography Introduction DSLR Cameras and accessories Lighting Focus and depth of field Landscape photography Photographing excavations Photographing buildings Photographing finds Image processing Elevated viewpoints Pole Aerial Photography (PAP) Examples of Pole Aerial Photography Kite Aerial Photography (KAP) Examples of Kite Aerial Photography Mapping with KAP 3D modelling from photographs Module references Documentary research Primary sources Secondary sources Using sources critically When would you carry out documentary research? Module References Introduction to CAD (Computer Aided design) Guided tour of DraftSight Using DraftSight with total station survey data Module References Introduction to mapping with a Geographic Information System (GIS) GIS data types Using GIS data Basic mapping principals Quantum GIS (QGIS) Instructions Importing total station or GPS data Plotting from a Database Georeferencer Plugin Creating a new vector file Joining data sources Querying your data Simple searches Advanced Searching Viewing search results as a map QGIS compatibility with MapInfo Module References Using OS OpenData with QGIS Improved Cartography: Exporting from QGIS and editing in Inkscape Inkscape Basics Report writing Report contents Report writing hints and tips Presentation The project archive Compiling your archive Making it accessible Report writing check-list Module references Glossary Appendix 1 Open source software |