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