Virtual Walkabouts

Abstract

The Virtual Walkabout resource aims to provide not only a tool for expressing the spatial relationships of archaeological landscapes, buildings and artefacts but also a resource for learning and teaching through a simple fieldwork project. The Virtual Walkabout archives contain a series of still, 2-dimensional photographic images that collectively try to express the experience of walking around an archaeological site or monument. The images are presented in their Virtual order from a given point of departure, and are connected by a series of moves, forwards, backwards, pan left, pan right, step left or step right. The Virtual Walkabout archives derive from an original idea of Prof Clive Ruggles who provided the initial set of images from the sites of Beaghmore and Avebury. In addition, the Virtual Walkabout includes a generator tool which can be used to generate walkabouts from any archaeological site, provided the images are arranged, processed and indexed as appropriate. The Walkabout Generator is supported by a short tutorial which is intended to encourage students to undertake their own simple fieldwork project and presents many of the common problems that fieldworkers face but which students often overlook. Lecturers and tutors are invited to use the walkabout to prepare students for fieldwork. Students and those using the walkabout are encouraged to submit their own virtual walkabouts for possible archiving with the ADS. The site is easily navigable through the standard ADS interface and users are required to accept the ADS terms and conditions prior to accessing the resource. The site requires a JavaScript enabled browser to view the archived walkabouts and a digital camera or standard camera and scanner together with image processing software are required to create a virtual walkabout