Techniques of Archaeological Excavation Research Papers (original) (raw)

Langelands Museum har det marinarkæologiske ansvar for farvandene rundt om Fyn og den jyske
østkyst fra grænsen til Vejle Fjord. Her er Det Sydfynske Øhav et af de bedst bevarede stenalderlandskaber
i verden. I dag ligger det ganske vist under vand, men netop derfor kan man her finde hundredvis af
velbevarede bopladser, og gennem årene har Langelands Museum på sine togter med det gamle skib
”Mjølner” gjort mange spændende fund og opdagelser. Et af dem er bopladsen Falden i Helnæsbugten
– og herom fortæller museets ansvarlige for marinarkæologien, Otto Uldum.

- by Samanti Kulatilake and +2
- •
- Archaeology, Maritime Archaeology, Paleoanthropology, Prehistoric Archaeology

J. Reinhard, Online-Präsentation von 3D-Modellen mit Sketchfab. Rundbrief Grabungstechnik 9, 2016, 12-14.

In mining operations carried out below the water table, mine area could potentially affect the surrounding. With further deepening of the mine and quarry, the drawdown can impact on water supply wells and base flow. The variation in radius of influence under confined and unconfined aquifer condition is assessed using a hypothetical case study with three operational quarry sites. Average pit-wise radius of influence (R0) for the pit mine, under unconfined and confined aquifer conditions is 963 m and 61 km, respectively, whereas effective radius (Re) for total (cumulative) excavated mine area is 1.7 and 146 km, respectively. It means that the maximum and minimum value of overall impact/influence for the unconfined aquifer lies in-between 963 m and 1.7 km. Similarly that the maximum and minimum value of overall impact/influence for the confined aquifer lies in-between 61 and 146 km. Meanwhile, Re or effective radius for total (cumulative) excavated area seems more appropriate from evaluation viewpoint due to the overlapping (superposition) concentric mining quarries. Thus, assessment of quarry-wise and total radius of influence is of importance to fulfil targeted production, economically with minimum interruptions as part of the mine planning. Moreover, it helps us to assess, monitor and regulate the impact of a mine-dewatering program in the area. Also, the pumping test is often used to estimate radius of influence; it can trigger the inflow or radius of influence. Estimate of the radius of influence using analytical equation mainly independent of discharge/abstraction from the aquifer stands as a preferred choice for the prediction of radius of influence at the quarry/mine pit. There is a strong rationale that policies should be informed by such analytical assessment because it helps us to prevent or minimize negative impacts as part of regulation and pit-mining management and are useful tools for practitioners to design economically efficient and cost-effective in situ groundwater remediation systems, to contain contaminant plumes, to evaluate the surface–subsurface water interaction and to verify numerical models.

"What Fits in the Backpack… Combining Leisure Time and Archaeological
Field Work": What should you do if you accidentally stumble across archaeological finds or features in your free time, e.g., while hiking? A stone slab covered with cup marks and petroglyphs in the Matter Valley near Zermatt in the Swiss canton of Valais serves as an example for an improvised but appropriate archaeological documentation only equipped with the contents of a hiker‘s backpack. The most important tool is a smartphone, which every hiker should carry for safety reasons alone. With the aid of the smartphone, finds can be measured and photographed. At the same time, it also serves as a yardstick, a bubble level and a north arrow. Image-based modeling, also known as Structure from Motion photogrammetry, helps to create a precise 3D model of the finds, which can be used for further analysis.

- by Jochen Reinhard
- •
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Photogrammetry, Rock Art (Archaeology)

"Requiring archaeological standard equipment (measurement unit and camera) only, Structure from Motion approaches offer an affordable, easy to use and accurate documentation method for stratigraphic excavations. Photo-realistic three-dimensional models generated with this method can be looked upon as virtual replicas of stratification units and thereby allow a comprehensible documentation of archaeological remains, making the models an excellent basis for interpretation purposes. However, on most excavations, Structure from Motion is still not applied in a frequent and systematic way.
During excavations within the exceptionally well preserved Copper Age settlement Meidling im Thale/Kleiner Anzingerberg/ in Lower Austria, Structure from Motion and Multi View Stereo has been used intensively for single surface documentation. The commercial software Agisoft PhotoScan was deployed for a fully automated calculation of intrinsic and extrinsic camera calibration parameters, for the creation of three dimensional point clouds and for the generation of photorealistic surface models. The models generated were transferred to a GIS environment providing the means for visualisation and data management. By arranging and displaying the models according to their stratigraphic position, a four dimensional virtual reality was created, through which the user can move interactively. Thus, as a method of digital preservation, Structure from Motion creates an objective and traceable documentation of archaeological remains.
For accurate results, special attention has to be paid to the process of data acquisition: high image quality and good light conditions are as mandatory as a high stereo coverage of the images. To optimize the latter, ground based aerial photography was introduced at the site of Kleiner Anzingerberg. A photo crane and a telescopic pole served as camera platforms for the generation of overview and serial vertical shots. Images taken that way improve accuracy and point density as well as the computing time required to build the models."

- by Ronny Weßling and +1
- •
- Archaeology, Computer Vision, Stratigraphy, Photogrammetry

Archaeological excavation is an important method to explore ancient heritage. We all know that the excavation means digging the earth. The earth is excavated for the purpose of exploring the ancient movable and immovable objects of hundreds or thousands years ago. This task of excavating the earth is accomplished in some steps and in the process by following certain methods of archaeology. But archaeological excavation is started only if archaeological survey or exploration is ensured potential having historic objects in a place, especially in the high or low mound of the earth. The procedure followed for the purpose of completing an archaeological excavation, some steps and process of the work are presented in this article.

Archaeological remains seem to prove that the
archaeological site of Sarnath was indeed a manufacturing
cum-factory site, even from the age of Mauryas and
continued up to the 12th Century CE. As a proof to this,
remains such as the geographical location of the site
connected with the rivers and intentionally made canals,
scattered raw material in the form of stone blocks and
chips of different sizes, in situ documentation of stone
flakes and chips of different sizes and shapes found
during explorations and excavations, implements and
tools for making art objects recovered from the recent
excavations, patina bearing stone blocks for sharpening
such tools, mason marks and names, have been studied
in detail. Artefacts displayed in the site museum and also
preserved in reserve collection prove that Sarnath was
a place where various sculptures and other art-pieces
for architectural purposes, were shaped.

- by Sachin Tiwary and +1
- •
- Deep excavation and urban tunnelling, Excavation Methodology, Excavation Reports, Budhist Art

Exploring the documentation, analysis, publication and archiving of 3D data of endangered alpine rock art.

- by Jochen Reinhard
- •
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Photogrammetry, Rock Art (Archaeology)
- by Otto Uldum and +4
- •
- Prehistoric Settlement, Underwater Archaeology, Mesolithic, Denmark

Requiring archaeological standard equipment (measurement unit and camera) only, Structure from Motion approaches offer an affordable, easy to use and accurate documentation method for stratigraphic excavations. Photo-realistic three-dimensional models generated with this method can be looked upon as virtual replicas of stratification units and thereby allow a comprehensible documentation of archaeological remains, making the models an excellent basis for interpretation purposes. However, on most excavations, Structure from Motion is still not applied in a frequent and systematic way. During excavations within the exceptionally well preserved Copper Age settlement Meidling im Thale/Kleiner Anzingerberg/ in Lower Austria, Structure from Motion and Multi View Stereo has been used intensively for single surface documentation. The commercial software Agisoft PhotoScan was deployed for a fully automated calculation of intrinsic and extrinsic camera calibration parameters, for the creation...

- by Alexandra Krenn-Leeb
- •
- Archaeology, Computer Vision, Stratigraphy, Photogrammetry

Die archäologische Denkmalpflege geht seit Jahrzehnten davon aus, dass die Belassung in situ die beste Möglichkeit ist, um Bodendenkmale langfristig möglichst unverändert ‚für die Erforschung durch künftige Generationen' zu erhalten. Daher betrachtet sie nicht durch externe Bedrohungen ‚notwendig' werdende archäologische Nachforschungen entweder als ‚Lustgrabungen' oder – wenn sie unsachgemäß durchgeführt werden – als ‚Raubgrabungen', die es möglichst vollständig zu verhindern gilt. Dadurch, so glaubt man, werden Bodendenkmale bestmöglich vor der Zerstörung geschützt und bleiben somit – angeblich ‚unverändert' – für die zukünftige Erforschung mit besseren als den heutigen Methoden so vollständig als möglich verfügbar.
In diesem Beitrag wird gezeigt, dass dieses Dogma auf einem gravierenden logischen Denkfehler beruht. Wie gezeigt wird schützt ihre Belassung in situ Bodendenkmale nicht langfristig, sondern führt vielmehr in der überwältigenden Mehrheit aller Fälle zu ihrer unbeobachteten und nicht archäologisch dokumentierten Zerstörung; also zu archäologischem Totalschaden. Der Denkfehler, der der archäologischen Denkmalpflege unterlaufen ist, beruht darauf, dass sie zwar stets davon spricht, dass sie die Bodendenkmale ‚für die Zukunft' erhalten will, aber sich bisher überhaupt keine Gedanken gemacht hat, was überhaupt das wahrscheinliche zukünftige Schicksal von im Boden belassenen Bodendenkmalen ist, geschweige denn vernünftige Zukunftsprognosen darüber erstellt hat.
Erstellt man auf Basis bisheriger Erfahrungen solche vernünftigen Zukunftsprognosen, erweist sich, dass die bestmögliche Methode zur möglichst langfristigen Erhaltung von Bodendenkmalen keineswegs ihre Belassung in situ, sondern vielmehr ihre möglichst zeitnahe Ausgrabung ist. Diese sollte natürlich optimaler Weise fachgerecht durch professionelle ArchäologInnen erfolgen; aber jede auch noch so unsachgemäß durchgeführte Grabung erzeugt eine höhere Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass Bodendenkmale (wenigstens teilweise) langfristig erhalten werden, als wenn man sie einfach in situ belässt. Eine fundamentale Änderung der archäologischen Denkmalpflegepraxis ist daher unumgänglich erforderlich, wenn man nicht durch denkmalpflegerisches Nichtstun mehr Schaden an den Bodendenkmalen erzeugen will, als tatsächlich ‚unvermeidlich' ist.

- by Raimund Karl
- •
- Future Studies, Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, Heritage Studies

Die Suche nach erhöhten Kamerastandpunkten für Übersichts- und Senkrechtaufnahmen einer Ausgrabungssituation ist so alt wie die Grabungsfotografie selbst, die Liste der hierfür angewandten Lösungsansätze so lang wie (häufig) unbefriedigend. Die dreidimensionale photogrammetrische Auswertung der gewonnenen Bilder war bislang Spezialisten vorbehalten und fand im Grabungsalltag üblicherweise keine Anwendung. Zwei technische Entwicklungen der letzten Jahre haben jedoch das Potential, diese Situation drastisch zu verändern:
So werden seit einigen Jahren mit Kameras ausgerüstete, ferngesteuerte UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles – im allgemeinen Sprachgebrauch «Drohnen») zunehmend auch in der Archäologie eingesetzt. Eine neue UAV-Gattung bilden die Multikopter, schwebefähige Flugplattformen mit meist vier, sechs oder acht Propellern. Sie bieten die Möglichkeit, halb- oder vollautonom Routen ab- oder gezielt Punkte im Luftraum anzufliegen – die Kameraposition ist dabei (fast) frei wählbar.
Das Bildmaterial aus UAV-Flügen ist ideal geeignet für eine ebenfalls erst seit kurzer Zeit breit verfügbare computergestützte Auswertungstechnik, die so genannte Structure-from-Motion-Photogrammetrie (SfM). Das Verfahren erlaubt es, dreidimensionale Informationen aus sich überlappenden Fotos auch unkalibrierter Kameras abzuleiten und so detaillierte und präzise 3D-Modelle der Grabungsflächen zu erstellen. Die errechneten 3D-Modelle können z. B. zur Visualisierung eines Befundes in Forschung wie Öffentlichkeitsarbeit eingesetzt werden. Gleichzeitig bilden sie jedoch auch die Grundlage für die Erstellung entzerrter Orthofotos oder Digitaler Oberflächenmodelle, die mit entsprechender CAD- oder GIS-Software in die digitale Grabungsdokumentation eingebunden werden können.
Die Kombination von UAV-Bildflügen und SfM-Photogrammetrie gibt der Feldarchäologie neue Werkzeuge an die Hand, auch grosse Grabungsflächen mit sehr hoher, bisher nicht praktikabel erreichbarer Informationsdichte zu dokumentieren.

- by Robert M Chapple
- •
- Irish Studies, Archaeology, Wetlands, Settlement Patterns
- by Robert M Chapple
- •
- Ancient History, Irish Studies, Archaeology, Irish Literature

Archaeological projects have been for many years now considered enterprises run mainly by public funding. Additionally, in many countries it is a commonly accepted notion that supporting heritage will automatically mean money loss and the need for extra funding is a constant " curse " for many site managers. In particular cases insufficient funding precludes the management of the site from running even basic maintenance work, consequently causing bad publicity, as less areas become accessible for visiting, and reducing the opportunities to improve the site facilities. The primary purpose of this paper is to explore through case-studies what are the key aspects of a successful management plan and business plan and what are the major financial, political issues encountered during the development of projects and how to handle these issues. It will also highlight the importance of involving different stakeholders as means to increase the chances of the success of site management, its conservation and valorisation. The second purpose is to explore limitations in achieving financial self-efficiency while managing an archaeological site and demonstrating the need to change the approach to Italian Heritage in order to " rescue " it from the risk of abandonment due to lack of funds. If a site can reduce the reliance of public funds it will protect the site from possible conservation and valorisation issues due to funds cuts as a consequence of economical crisis like it has occurred since 2008. The last goal of this paper is to explore what actions can be taken to reach a much wider public, including those that would not naturally come to visit the site, and understand the possible threats of the rise of visitor numbers, while investigating the possible benefits in terms of job creation within the site and in the buffer zone. The final question which will be tried to answer is: are all sites potentially sustainable or is it necessary to consider the closure of some to preserve them until more funds become available? Presentation Preference-Oral

- by Robert M Chapple
- •
- Irish Studies, Archaeology, Settlement Patterns, Early Medieval Archaeology
- by Ronny Weßling and +2
- •
- Archaeology, Computer Vision, Stratigraphy, Photogrammetry
- by Gianluigi Bacchetta
- •
- Archaeology, Plant Biology, Palynology, Ecology
- by John Sabol
- •
- Archaeology, Landscape Archaeology, Human Memory, History and Memory
- by Robert M Chapple
- •
- Irish Studies, Archaeology, Settlement Patterns, Early Medieval Archaeology

The goal of this assignment is to present critical reflection of Sa Osa area, near town of Cabras (Sardinia, Italy) fieldwork techniques and research methods in the case study of discovered Nuragic settlement. Excavation in 2008 revealed numerous pits, wells and structures, where the most remarkable and also the subject of this paper analysis is Well-N, radiocarbon and archaeologically dated to the Late Bronze Age. In waterlogged conditions, numerous remains of macro-remains and pollen were found. The fieldwork and research techniques are going to be discussed.

- by Dominika Wardzinska
- •
- Archaeology, Palynology, Pollen analysis, Field Methods

This paper reviews the evidence for the significance of pits in the Mesolithic of Ireland. Pits have not always been considered an important aspect of the Mesolithic in Ireland, but a systematic island-wide review of the data demonstrates that they are common on Mesolithic sites, and highlights important patterns in the ways these features are excavated, filled, and sometimes marked. Pits have been considered important features of the Neolithic of Britain and Ireland, and consideration of the Irish Mesolithic data contributes to broader comparative analysis. Problems in the recording and analysis of pits are highlighted.