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Funding for multidisciplinary field school at Portus

We have been awarded funding from a Student Centredness fund grant to create a unique field school at Portus that will provide the context for novel learning experiences to students from across the University, including an on-line infrastructure to build a community around a period of archaeological fieldwork in Italy. It will also benefit from a related SC project aimed at providing virtual access to the Portus fieldwork experience. Continue reading →

RTI shedding new light on Iberian Late Bronze Age stelae

During the first two weeks of September David Wheatley and myself, jointly with Leonardo García Sanjuán (University of Seville), have conducted fieldwork in Lora del Río, Seville (Spain). This fieldwork has been aimed at providing enhanced contextual data and visual recording of a Late Bronze Age decorated stela. As part of this work we have applied Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) and the results are really amazing. RTI allows us to examine the surface of the stela interactively. Continue reading →

Photographing Portus

Photography has been extremely important to the Portus Project. The photographic record which has been created as we have been working on the site allows us to re-visit and interpret the excavations at many levels. As well as a vast archive of photographs depicting excavated contexts, sections and objects we also have a substantial collection of images which depict the day to day life of an archaeological excavation. Continue reading →

Photographing Portus

Working underground presents a unique photographic challenge: Here we can see myself and James Miles laser scanning a subterranean corridor in the Imperial Palace. The long exposures required to capture a dimly lit scene mean that light and movement take on the form of blurs and shadows. Photography has been extremely important to the Portus Project. Continue reading →

Laser Scanning at Portus

In the past week myself and Gareth Beale have spent time capturing the subterranean areas of  the Imperial Palace at Portus. We have been trialing the use of the Leica Scan Station C10 for archaeological documentation and the results so far appear very impressive. All archaeological remains are subject to constant deterioration, this is especially true of substantial architectural remains such as the Imperial Palace. Continue reading →

Laser Scanning at Portus

In the past week myself and Gareth Beale have spent time capturing the subterranean areas of  the Imperial Palace at Portus. We have been trialing the use of the Leica Scan Station C10 for archaeological documentation and the results so far appear very impressive. All archaeological remains are subject to constant deterioration, this is especially true of substantial architectural remains such as the Imperial Palace. Continue reading →

Demonstrating RTI for Ceramics

Yesterday I was demonstrating Highlight Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) at the Insight from Innovation conference, a three day archaeological ceramics event hosted by the Ceramics Research Group, celebrating Emeritus Professor David Peacock’s contribution to archaeological artefact studies. I always find these kinds of events really exciting as they are often a fantastic opportunity to discuss with experts in their field the potential for RTI within the area that they work. Continue reading →

Portus Project Lecture

Last night Professor Simon Keay delivered a lecture outlining the recent research he has been leading as director of the Portus Project, which explores the site of Imperial Rome’s maritime port. Entitled “Roman Emperors, Ships and Commerce: inter-disciplinary research at Portus 2011-2012?, the lecture was chaired by Professor Don Nutbeam, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton, and introduced by Professor Anne Curry, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. Continue reading →