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Preparing for the Spring Survey

This week some of the staff from the surveying modules for undergraduate Archaeology students visited Basing House to set out the grid for the planned survey work. As the site is so large, we spent some time working out where to put our pegs so that all of the teams of students would be able to set up total stations and carry out a topographic or building survey across the extensive site. The weather was beautiful (I even think I caught the sun a little bit). Continue reading →

On the beauty of ancient objects

On the recent Guardian onartblog Jonathan Jones asks Is Archaeology the New Art. Writing about the British Museum’s two new exhibitions on ice-age art and the ancient sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum, Jones notes how ancient objects are ‘thrilling’ and ‘still fascinate and beguile’. In drawing attention to these distinctive qualities of archaeology, Jones suggests that an emphasis on such attributes is the ‘best way for archaeologists to popularise their research’. Continue reading →

Forthcoming international conference Creativity: An Exploration Through the Bronze Age and Contemporary Responses to the Bronze Age

Members of the HERA-funded project Creativity and Craft Production in Middle and Late Bronze Age Europe (CinBA) (www.cinba.net) co-ordinated by myself are getting ready for the forthcoming international conference Creativity: An Exploration Through the Bronze Age and Contemporary Responses to the Bronze Age to be held on 10th-11th April 2013 at Magdalene College, University of Cambridge, UK. There is a fantastic line up of speakers drawn from all across Europe (www.cinba.net/conference). Continue reading →

Late Bronze Age Stelae, Craftspeople and Digital Technologies: Some Recent Explorations

Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) is revealing itself as a very powerful tool to examine prehistoric rock art. Through the application of different filters and the manipulation of the incidence of light, RTI provides an enhanced visual experience of the micro-topography of engraved stones, enabling the detection of subtle details that are difficult, at times impossible, to be seen through other recording techniques. Continue reading →

Damage to the Archaeological Site of Antinoupolis

Further to my recent posts on the survey at Antinoupolis, the subject of this entry is to highlight some of the quite extensive damage that is occurring at the Roman city and necropolis. Damage to the large furnace structure at Sheikh Ebada The site has slways formed the focus of forms of looting and destruction for centuries, from 18th century antiquities to the excavation of the site to provide raw materials for gunpowder manufacture in the 19th century. Continue reading →

Digitally Recording A 3rd Century BC Underwater Battlefield

One of the most exciting archaeological discoveries of the last decade has been an ancient naval battlefield off the Egadi Islands in Italy. Located in over 100 metres depth and requiring robots to survey and record the artefacts, the site dates to the decisive climax of the First Punic War between Rome and Carthage in 241 BC. Previously, only two waterline warship rams had ever been discovered, but ten have been found at the battle site together with thousands of other artefacts. Continue reading →