We are happy to announce that our team, together with the Department of Anthropology (Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences) and Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology (Polish Academy of Sciences) will organize a session related to the utilisation of new technologies in woodland archaeology. This session will be a part of the next year CAA International conference that will be held in Cracow in April 2019. Below you can find the detailed description of our session as well as further information’s concerning the submission process
New technologies in woodland archaeology: problems and limitations.
A vast part of Europe is covered with woods (esp. Central, Eastern and Northern Europe), however, research within woodlands has often been neglected by archaeologists, mainly due to limited accessibility to these areas and the difficult conditions encountered during field investigations. Nevertheless, many forested areas offer unique opportunities to explore wellpreserved remains of earlier human activities, traces of which have not been erased or transformed by modern agriculture, industrialisation or urbanisation. For some chronological horizons, there are regions that preserve complete accumulations of deserted cultural landscapes (economic, domestic and funerary) despite the succession of forestation processes. Unfortunately, the presence of dense vegetation has until recently meant that the application of standard archaeological techniques in forested environments, such as surface surveys and excavations, was problematic. However, the development of new technologies can significantly support archaeological investigations in wooded landscapes (e.g. the introduction of ALS data, GPS tools, GIS software, modern geophysics, photogrammetry etc).
Alas, these new approaches are not without their own problems. For example the frequent lack of GSM/GPS signal caused by the wood cover makes it difficult to properly locate and georeference surface surveys, excavations and other investigations. The woodlands also restrict the deployment of drones and the preparation of photogrammetric plans. Furthermore, the application of geophysics is much more difficult, both from the point of view of conducting field work and the subsequent interpretation of survey data. Of course, these are just a few examples of problems related to woodland archaeology, the full list is much longer.
In this session, we will address topics ranging from non-invasive remote sensing to more invasive ways of archaeological investigations, performed with the use of high-tech methods of documentation and geodetic measurements. We would like to focus especially on specific problems and limitations related to utilisation of concrete modern technologies in woodlands as well as possible solutions. Interdisciplinary approaches are also welcome.
Standard session Directors ·
Michał Jakubczak, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences ·
Pawel Konczewski, Department of Anthropology, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences ·
Kamil Niedziółka, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw
Deadline: 10th of October 2018 – Go to www.2019.caaconference.org for submitting your abstract and for further information on membership and CAA 2019.
Session #42 (S42)