Interpretation at the controller's edge: designing graphical user interfaces for the digital publication of the excavations at Gabii (Italy)

This paper discusses the authors’ approach to designing an interface for the Gabii Project’s digital volumes that attempts to fuse elements of traditional synthetic publications and site reports with rich digital datasets. Archaeology, and classical archaeology in particular, has long engaged with questions of the formation and lived experience of towns and cities. Such studies might draw on evidence of local topography, the arrangement of the built environment, and the placement of architectural details, monuments and inscriptions (e.g. Johnson and Millett 2012). Fundamental to the continued development of these studies is the growing body of evidence emerging from new excavations. Digital techniques for recording evidence “on the ground,” notably SFM (structure from motion aka close range photogrammetry) for the creation of detailed 3D models and for scene-level modeling in 3D have advanced rapidly in recent years. These parallel developments have opened the door for approaches to the study of the creation and experience of urban space driven by a combination of scene-level reconstruction models (van Roode et al. 2012, Paliou et al. 2011, Paliou 2013) explicitly combined with detailed SFM or scanning based 3D models representing stratigraphic evidence. It is essential to understand the subtle but crucial impact of the design of the user interface on the interpretation of these models. In this paper we focus on the impact of design choices for the user interface, and make connections between design choices and the broader discourse in archaeological theory surrounding the practice of the creation and consumption of archaeological knowledge. As a case in point we take the prototype interface being developed within the Gabii Project for the publication of the Tincu House. In discussing our own evolving practices in engagement with the archaeological record created at Gabii, we highlight some of the challenges of undertaking theoretically-situated user interface design, and their implications for the publication and study of archaeological materials

Publishing archaeological excavations at the digital turn

This paper engages with repeated calls within archaeology for a re-envisioning of the excavation report, contextualized by the transformation of scholarly communication taking place across the humanities and social sciences. This widespread transformation is rooted in a growing interest in showing data together with synthesis and argument, the importance afforded to public engagement, and the proliferation of digital platforms that enable creative presentations of scholarly work. In this context, we discuss our experience producing an excavation report that attempts to integrate several forms of scholarly and public-facing communication on a digital platform, and aims engage audiences at multiple levels, while simultaneously facilitating data reuse and laying out the authors’ current interpretations. We consider the benefits and challenges of producing work in this way through the example of the process of producing the Gabii Project’s first volume, A Mid-Republican House from Gabii, developed through a collaboration between the Gabii Project team and the University of Michigan Press. This experience is contextualised within the broader discourse surrounding changing expectations about open access, authorship and credit, and sustainability of digital scholarship in academic publishing

Three dimensional field recording in archaeology: An example from Gabii

No abstract available

Recent trends and long-standing problems in archaeological remote sensing

The variety and sophistication of data sources, sensors, and platforms employed in archaeological remote sensing have increased significantly over the past decade. Projects incorporating data from UAV surveys, regional and research-driven lidar surveys, the uptake of hyperspectral imaging, the launch of high-temporal revisit satellites, the advent of multi-sensor rigs for geophysical survey, and increased use of structure from motion mean that more archaeologists are engaging with remote sensing than ever. These technological advances continue to drive research in the specialist community and provide reasons for optimism about future applications, but many social and technical obstacles to the integration of remote sensing into archaeological research and heritage management remain. This article addresses the challenges of contemporary archaeological remote sensing by briefly reviewing trends and then focusing on providing a critical overview of the main structural problems. The discussion here concentrates on topics that have dominated the discourse in recent archaeological literature and featured prominently in ongoing fieldwork for the past decade across three broad segments of landscape archaeology: data collection in the field, the current state of data access and archives, and processing and interpretation

LiDAR : quel apport pour l'analyse des paysages ?

National audienceEn plein essor depuis quelques années en France, la technologie LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) apparaît comme un outil révolutionnaire notamment pour les archéologues qui s'intéressent aux vestiges sous forêts. En effet, elle permet de faire un relevé microtopographique extensif en un temps record et ce malgré la couverture végétale. Déjà appliquée, entre autres, dans le Pays de Bade, en Alsace, sur la forêt de Haye en Lorraine, sur le site de Bibracte en Bourgogne , sur le littoral languedocien, elle l'a été plus récemment (2009) en Franche-Comté dans le cadre du projet LIEPPEC (Lidar pour l'Étude des Paysages Passés et Contemporains

New 3D Scanning Project for Use Wear Analysis

Includes bibliographical reference

Apports des prospections non destructives à la connaissance du quartier artisanal antique de l'Essarté, Epomanduodurum, commune de Mathay, Doubs

National audienceThe Essarté workshop area, dating to the Classical period, is situated in the town of Mathay (Doubs). Excavated in the 1980s and 90s, it has been interpreted as an area specializing in ceramics production. This study of this area takes place in the context of an ongoing, broader project focused on the ancient town of Mandeure-Mathay (Epomanduodurum) and its surroundings, currently conducted within the framework of a PCR (collective research project). To undertake a more detailed study of the Essarté area fieldwalking surveys were carried out in 2006 and a synthesis of previous excavations, based on the available documentation, was completed in 2009. Geophysical surveys were conducted in 2009 and 2010. In addition, a LiDAR survey of Mandeure-Mathay and its surroundings realized in 2009 included the Essarté area. This paper contextualizes the data provided by excavations and aerial surveys carried in the 1980s and 90s by integrating it with the data obtained through the magnetometry survey - providing additional information on sub-surface features - and the data obtained through fieldwalking and LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) surveys - used to characterize the micro-topography of the terrain surface and associated materials in detail. This new study, in addition to adding details to the existing picture of the Essarté area, demonstrates that this locale was used as a burial area prior to the Roman phase of the site.L'Essarté est un quartier antique de potiers situé sur la commune de Mathay (Doubs). Il a été fouillé dans les années 1980-90. Dans le cadre d'un PCR consacré plus généralement à l'ensemble de l'agglomération antique de Mandeure-Mathay (Epomanduodurum) et aux espaces qui l'environnent, des prospections au sol ont été menées à l'Essarté en 2006, une synthèse des fouilles basée sur la documentation existante a été faite en 2009, et des prospections géophysiques ont été réalisées en 2009 et 2010. Par ailleurs, l'agglomération antique et ses alentours ont fait l'objet d'un relevé LiDAR en 2009. Cet article présente la mise en perspective des données acquises par les fouilles et par les prospections aériennes des années 1980-90 avec les informations obtenues à partir des résultats des prospections magnétiques, qui ont permis d'avoir des renseignements sur la nature du proche sous-sol, ainsi qu'à partir des prospections pédestres récentes et du relevé LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging), qui informent sur ce qui est observable en surface, notamment sur les variations et micro-variations du relief grâce au LiDAR. Globalement, la nature du quartier antique et sa topographie ont pu être précisées, et des données nouvelles relatives à une occupation antérieure de la zone (nécropole) ont été acquises

Lidar in Mediterranean agricultural landscapes: reassessing land use in the Mauguio

International audienceThe value of lidar data for the study of forested areas has been repeatedly demonstrated, recording large numbers of previously unknown sites and features where most survey methods are ineffective. However, the question of the value of lidar in cultivated areas already investigated through historical mapping and archaeological studies such as fieldwalking survey, aerial photographic survey and excavation remains open. This paper summarizes the results of recent research in the open and heavily cultivated Mauguio region of southern France and reflects on the challenges of integrating information from lidar survey into an existing body of knowledge on the development of an agricultural landscape

The impact of inclusive education on the mathematical progress of pupils with intellectual disabilities

This study investigated the differences between the mathematical profiles of primary school pupils with intellectual disabilities (ID) enrolled in inclusive classrooms and those enrolled in special schools. It also considered whether the instructional setting has an impact on mathematical achievement gain. The mathematical achievement of 100 pupils with ID in inclusive classrooms (groupINCLUSIVE, n = 44) and special schools (groupSPECIAL, n = 56) was assessed at the beginning and the end of one school year. The results show that pupils with ID have a different mathematical profile in each setting. More of the pupils with very low mathematical achievement were enrolled in special schools and they made little progress over the course of the year. More of the pupils with ID who had computational skills were in inclusive classrooms. Due to large differences in age, IQ, and prior mathematical achievement between the two groups, a sample of matched pairs with one pupil from each setting was selected (n = 44). Regression analysis showed that the inclusive setting had a small positive effect on mathematical achievement gain after nine months. The study provides evidence that inclusive education is beneficial for the mathematical achievement gain of pupils with ID

Ready for integrated sustainable agricultural land management?

Remote and near surface sensing technologies underpin the precision agricultural methods used to manage land productively and sustainably and the archaeological prospection methods used to identify, evaluate, and manage heritage features within that land sustainably and for the public benefit. Users of these technologies and the data they produce are engaged in a shared project, managing agricultural land, but direct collaborations between them remain rare. The disjuncture between individuals and organisations working in these domains has led to data silos and collection of incompatible data, missed opportunities to improve methods through knowledge exchange and technology transfer, and gaps in the knowledge about agricultural soil systems needed for decision making. The ipaast project investigated the extent to which stakeholders in sensing for land management are informed, willing, enabled, and motivated to change their working practices to facilitate collaborations designed to improve outcomes of using sensing data across precision agriculture, agri-environmental management, archaeology, and heritage management. This report presents an assessment of current stakeholder views and identifies opportunities for collaboration around using sensing data for land management, together with key barriers