The N18 Oranmore to Gort Archaeological Excavations

Programme&

the use of GIS from Project Design to Publication

Finn Delaney & Maurizio ToscanoEachtra Archaeological Projects

IAI Autumn conference Belfast 5th & 6th November 2010

Overview

• IntroductionThe SchemeGIS – what is it?Why we adopted the methodology

• Set-up• The system and process as developed• Benefits• Outcomes• Summary• Acknowledgements

Introduction

Eachtra Archaeological Projects were commissioned to provide archaeological services

in four Phases

• Phase 1 – Surveys, Test Excavations and Reporting

• Phase 2 – Full Excavation of significant archaeological features or deposits discovered during the phase 1 works

• Phase 3 – Post-excavation analyses and the production of illustrated reports fit for publication

• Phase 4 - Monitoring

Phase 1 All work at phase 1 followed recommendations made by EIS for the scheme

• Desk based study• Earthwork surveys• A building survey• Townland boundary

Surveys• A watercourse survey• Test excavation by

hand

• Test excavation by machine

• Field walking• Centre line testing by

machine in all other areas (162,263 m²)

Project Team• 6 excavation teams – 6 directors (John Lehane, Gerry Mullins,

Agnes Kerrigan, Tori McMorran, Linda Hegarty and Enda O’Mahony), 13 supervisors, 1 osteo archaeologist, 56 site assistants and 6 general operatives

• Liaison officer/fencer

• Surveyor and assistant

• GIS x 3 – management, data input and reporting

• Office manager and assistant

• Senior Archaeologist

Phase 2

• 23 sites excavated – January to June 2008, November 2009 and March 2010

• Producing 1000’s of records– Context sheets– Registers– Samples– Finds– Photographs– Scaled drawings

Phase 3 – Post excavation Large specialist team highlights the collaborative nature of the project

Speciality Name

Artefact catalogue Sara Camplese

Charcoal Mary Dillon

Aerial photographs Gavin Duffy

Isotope analysis Jane Evans

Osteoarchaeology Jonny Geber

Plant remains Penny Johnston

Artefact conservation Susannah Kelly

Historical research Alison McQueen

Human bone illustration Malgorzata Kryczka

Soil analysis Stephen Lancaster

Anaiml bones Margaret McCarthy

Early medieval Burial consultation

Elizabeth O’Brien

Lithic artefacts Farina Sternke

Photography John Sunderland

Reconstruction drawings Dan Tietzsch-Tyler

GIS analysis Maurizio Toscano

Interactive CD-ROM Robin Turk

Archaeometallurgy Tim Young

Radiocarbon dates 14 Chrono Centre at Queen’s University Belfast

GIS - Definition

• A geographic information system (GIS), is any system that captures, stores, analyses, manages, and presents data that are linked to location

• GIS is the merging of cartography, statistical analysis, and database technology

(Wikipideia)

Set-up

Pre-excavation Planning and system building

• Eachtra’s Recording Methodology

&

• Maurizio Toscano’s experience in GIS design and computer science gained in the Archaeological School of Sienna

The system and process as developed

The system

• Two core elements

• A relational database (Alphanumeric data – Photos, context sheets and registers)

• A geo-database (store and manage scale drawings)

• The data model was created from scratch to specifically deal with archaeological data

• The structure was organised to gather all of the information produced and recorded during an excavation

Eachtra Documentation System

Site Steps

Office Steps Read-only open access map for

consultation

Restrict access for map makingand data analysis

Post-Ex update

EAPOD

GIS

Specialist reports

Registers

Post-ex Plans(Raster and Vector)

Photos

Context Sheets

Relational database

• The use of a proper database instead of a simple spreadsheet is crucial to the GIS system as a whole due to the necessity of ensuring data integrity and the control of language during data entry

Database structure

Stratigraphic Index

Finds Photos Samples

1:M

Skeleton Sheets Drawings Masonry Sheets

Specialists Reports

1:1 1:1

Stratigraphic Index

Eachtra Archaeological Projects Office Database

Geo-database• This is used on-site to store the digitised permatrace plans

• Project data – excavation areas, CPO line, OS data, test trenches, chainage

• Landscape data – Contour, townland, lakes and rivers, RMP sites and infrastructure

• Geophysical data

• Historic maps

• Aerial Photographs

Permatrace plans

• Individual plans are drawn by grid square (5x5 m.);

• Each grid square plan is then scanned as a raster file and put into place by matching up the grid square points on the permatrace drawing to the corresponding grid square points on the GIS site plan.

Permatrace plansPlans ‘stitched’ together

Geophysical data

Aerial photos

Historical maps

Benefits

Benefits of GIS

Benefits Micro Macro

Planning √ √

Excavation √ √

Post- excavation √ √

Dissemination √ √

Micro or Site levelBenefits

Macro or project LevelBenefits

Research ThemesInformed by the Review of Needs in Irish Archaeology – Heritage Council 2007

• early medieval settlement and society as reflected by the previously known sites recorded in the national Sites and Monuments Record and the new evidence from the cashel sites excavated for this project

• burial and society in the early medieval period in south Galway

• the Bronze Age landscape of south Galway as reflected by the previously known sites and stray finds, and new evidence from the burnt mounds excavated along the new road

• settlement history in south Galway in the 19th and early 20th centuries as revealed by the demesne landscapes and the excavated tenant farmstead and clachan settlements

Outcomes

• 23 Final Excavation reports

• Articles

• Banner Display

• Interactive CD

• Monograph Publication - ‘In the Lowlands of South Galway’

Summary of General Benefits• Planning tool which provides a structure, system and a process – it

becomes a project management tool

• All of the vast amount of data informs the results

• Site plans become an instrument of research – vector data suited to publication and amalgamation

• Allows for informed analysis of results on a site basis as well as on a project level

• Allows for streamlined collaboration and Teamwork

• The digital archive becomes a valuable resource

Benefits to the N18OG Project

• Completed

• Kept to Programme

• Quality ?PresentationData and Analysis

Acknowledgements

• Jerry O’Sullivan, Project Archaeologist

• Tony Collins and Laura Heneghan, Galway County Council

• Joseph O’Brien, Engineering Consultancy, Hyder Tobin

• Martin Reid, Department of the Environment Heritage, and Local Government

• The co-operation with the testing and excavation programme by the landowners along the scheme is also gratefully acknowledged.