Geophysical survey

project: Glastonbury Abbey: Archaeological Archive Project

This project will analyse and publish the archive of excavations at Glastonbury Abbey by iconic figures in the history of archaeology: St John Hope (1904), Bligh Bond (1908-21), Peers and Clapham (1928-39) and Ralegh Radford (1951-64). The results of the project will be published as a monograph and will be accessible as an online database through the Archaeology Data Service. [read more]

project: Medieval Warfare on the Grid: The Case of Manzikert

The Medieval Warfare on the Grid project (MWGrid) employs e-science methods and tools to support historical research into logistics of medieval war. The battle of Manzikert (modern Malazgirt, Turkey) in 1071, between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks, is the subject of this investigation. This key event, which paved the way for Turkish settlement in eastern Anatolia, has been previously studied through comparative historical analysis. However, due to limited sources and the lack of comprehensive analytical methods, its logistics remain a subject of speculation. [read more]

tool: GDAL

Purpose: 

Geospatial Data Abstraction Library (GDAL) is a translator library for vector and raster geospatial data formats that is released under an X/MIT style Open Source license by the Open Source Geospatial Foundation.

Features: 

• supports over 40 different raster formats
• available for other applications to use
• prebuilt utilities

A&H use case 1 description: 
“A Vision of Britain through Time” project has used GDAL to ensure that every geo-tiff had a corresponding world file containing its geographical data which was used together with the ordinary tiff to re-create the geo-tiff once all image processing operations were complete.
Publisher: 
Open Source Geospatial Foundation
Creator: 
Frank Warmerdam
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tool: ArcGIS

Purpose: 

ArcGIS is a suite of software that comprises of Desktop GIS, Server GIS, Mobile GIS, and Online GIS. ArcGIS is a platform for building a complete geographic information system (GIS) that lets you easily create, edit, and analyse geographic knowledge on the desktop; publish data, maps, globes and models to a GIS server and/or share them online; and use them on the desktop, on the Web, or in the field.

Features: 

• View and query maps
• Manipulate shapefiles and geodatabases
• Data manipulation, editing and analysis
• Mobile device enabled

A&H use case 1 description: 
ArcGIS was used in the Mapping Medieval Chester project to integrate geographical and literary mappings of the medieval city using cartographic and textual sources and using these to understand more how urban landscapes in the Middle Ages were interpreted and navigated by local inhabitants.
A&H use case 2 description: 
ArcGIS was used in the Troodos Archaeological and Environmental Survey Project to investigate the relationship between people and their environment, from the Neolithic period to the present day on the island of Cyprus. ArcGIS was used to gather, analyse and map geomorphological data.
Publisher: 
Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI)
Creator: 
Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI)
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GRASS (Geographic Analysis Support System) GIS, ThinkGeo

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Purpose: 

Mercury Amira is a multifaceted tool that allows for integration, manipulation, and visualisation of large sets of data. Automatic and interactive segmentation tools support processing of 3D image data.

Features: 

• One platform for visualizing, analyzing and presenting
• Very large data sets are easily accessible with specific readers
• C++ coding wizard for technical extension and customization

A&H use case 1 description: 
Amira was used on the North Sea Palaeolandscapes project to visualise and analyse the vast amounts of data that were collected.
Publisher: 
Visage Imaging GmbH
Creator: 
Mercury Software Systems
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Alternate tool(s): 

Avizo

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tool: Google Earth

Purpose: 

Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographic information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a company acquired by Google in 2004.
It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite imagery, aerial photography and GIS 3D globe.

Features: 

• Editable and customisable maps
• Simplified touring with audio and voice recording
• Different layers
• 3D buildings
• Save and share maps

A&H use case 1 description: 
The “Inscriptions of Roman Tripolitania” project has used Google Earth to map data relating to Greek and Latin inscriptions from Roman Tripolitania onto Google Earth maps.
Creator: 
Keyhole, Inc
Publisher: 
Google
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Bing Maps Platform, Bhuvan

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tool: OpendTect

Purpose: 

A software application for analysing and visualising multi-volume seismic data. OpendTect may be used to analyse 2D, 3D and 4D pre- and post-stack seismic data.

Features: 
  • Visualization and analysis of 2D and 3D seismic data in a single survey
  • 2D and 3D horizon tracking including auto-tracking, plane-by-plane, line and manual tracking
  • On-the-fly calculation and visualization of various attributes and filters
  • Plug-in architecture
A&H use case 1 description: 
The North Sea Palaeolandscapes project used OpendTect to produce a 3D seismic model of the British continental shelf. The model was used to visualise landscapes that may have been populated by humans in the late Quaternary and Holocene period, but which are now submersed underwater.
Publisher: 
Freshmeat
Creator: 
OpendTect project
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tool: ArcView

Purpose: 

A software application for creating, manipulating and analysing GIS (Geographic Information System) data. ArcView may be used to create geographic maps, manipulate spatial features, analyse attributes and characteristics, and visualise spatial information in an understandable form. Current versions of the software enable the user to import and manipulate several content types in a spatial environment, including demographic information, CAD designs, still images and other types of content.

Features: 

• Integrated query-building functionality to interrogate a dataset in order to answer research questions. For example, distance measurement, feature location
• Availability of map templates to create a consistent layout and appearance.
• Plug-in support that allows use of first-party and third-party extensions to perform tasks unsupported in the base installation of the software. E.g. raster geo-processing and three-dimensional analysis.

A&H use case 1 description: 
‘Predicting the location of hominid sites in Africa and Asia’ project has used the software to geo-reference a dataset of locations in Africa and Asia, in order to assess the relationship between bone collagen preservation and geographic location of archaeological sites.
Publisher: 
ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute)
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project: Stonehenge Riverside Project

The Stonehenge Riverside Project was initiated in 2003 with the overall aim of better understanding Stonehenge within its changing monumental and natural landscape context, especially through investigation of the hypothesis that Stonehenge (in its Phase 3) formed one half of a larger complex as a stone circle associated with the dead, in contrast to a timber circle associated with the living at Durrington Walls. After five years of field investigations (landscape survey, geophysics, earthwork survey, excavation) and re-appraisal of previous interventions within the Stonehenge landscape, the [read more]

project: Early historic landscapes and the rise of centralised states on the Mekong Delta, Cambodia

The Mekong River delta region was a hearth of early state development in SE Asia. Archaeological research at the early historic city of Angkor Borei, Cambodia, is revealing the nature of the cultural landscape, but this information is yet to be articulated with records of change and variability in the ‘natural’ landscape. [read more]

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