21st century archaeology

[Barnesy]

As much as I resent the phrase, how about a little 'Blue Sky Thinking'. What wild and fantastic techniques have people seen being used or would we like to be using (cost and laws of physics no object, extra points awarded for use of pig latin)?

[eggbasket]

I would like to see the use of RPVs by Consultants and Project Managers for monitoring sites, closely followed by the invention of the WHS-ocet missile!

More seriously, I think greater use and development of remote scanning techniques like lidar and laser scanning of buildings, etc would be good, if only because of the gizmos we could start playing with.

Also, a disintegrator trowel that vapourised a single layer at a time but preserved all the finds would be most excellent. Just think of the advantages; single context excavation of all sites; you would know exactly which layer the finds came from; and best of all, there would be never be a need to overcut edges just to be sure you have found them.

And finally, a context sheet that automatically corrects spelling, grammar and punctuation according to the rules of Fowler's Modern English Usage (I sneer at your Eats Shoots and Leaves!). It should also automatically correct non-standard terminology, remove facetious or rude comments, repel dirt, be waterproof and render legible the hand-writing of all staff by transforming the script into best copperplate.

Cheers,
Eggbasket
Gentleman Adventurer and Periphrastic Sesquipedalian

Preternatural eventuation is an amaranthine potentiality

[Cautionary Tale]

Ah yes, the ionised context sheet. Hmmmmmmmmm [:p].

One of the crazy concepts I last tried to deal with was a paperless site (ie tablet computers to input context data with GPS recievers on board to locate finds etc.). Did I mention Blue Sky?

I award eggbasket 8.5 points (principally for the WHS-ocet missle), and myself 3.14 (marked down for lack of pig latin).

[eggbasket]

quote:Originally posted by Barnesy

I award ... myself 3.14 (marked down for lack of pig latin).

But at least you get the Pie!

Cheers,
Eggbasket
Gentleman Adventurer and Purveyor of Agitfop to the Masses

Civilise the City March: assemble at the Beau Brummell memorial on Jermyn Street, London SW1 on Saturday 15th October at midday. Please bring elegant clothing, a stout cane and a doffable hat.

[Cautionary Tale]

Arh thank you (couldn't find the symbol) [:o)].

[Sith]

quote:Originally posted by Barnesy

One of the crazy concepts I last tried to deal with was a paperless site

There are those who suggest that this has been around since Pitt Rivers was a Subaltern. Think about all of those sites through the ages that remain stubbornly unpublished (or unpublishable).

D. Vader
Senior Consultant

Vader Maull & Palpatine
Archaeological Consultants

Not just there for the rotten things in life like a blocked wormhole

[Cautionary Tale]

Perhaps we should be looking to get a subset of field archaeologists to be trained as mediums then.
I was reading not so long ago about the perils of digital photography. I've discussed this with a number of people: some say that a digital photo saved as a JPEG is about as universally readable as you can get (apparently its relatively easy to write a programme to read a JPEG from scratch which should mean that they are quite furure safe), but against that is the resolution issue (I've read a 400ASA film is the equivalent of a good 16 MP digital camera).

[Curator Kid]

quote:Originally posted by Barnesy

Perhaps we should be looking to get a subset of field archaeologists to be trained as mediums then.

That's not such a wacky idea. Frederick Bligh-Bond is supposed to have communicated with dead monks through automatic writing in order to position the trenches at his Glastonbury Abbey excavations.

Personally, I'm all in favour of genetically modified termites. These could be DNA enhanced to only eat one particular kind of deposit (eg post hole fills), then tipped onto the site and left to do their work. At the end of the day all you'd need to do would be to go around and collect all the finds from the nice cleanly excavated post holes. Then collect up the termites and tip some new ones on the site, that only ate pit fills, etc. etc. The archaeologists could then spend all their time filling in the records properly, rather than doing the digging themselves, and the termites could only eat what they'd been created for, so would stop at all the right context edges.

(I suppose if you wanted to take samples you'd need to stand by with a kettle of boiling water or something...)

[Cautionary Tale]

Surely genetically modified worms would be better. Ready made samples if you collect the casts at the end of the day, and no need to waste good kettle time. I fear there is a good deal of mileage in biological solutions.

[amber]

Hover barrows are the way forward. been saying that for years though.