GIS for Archaeology and CRM

About a year ago I posted a short blurb about an archaeology project I was working on that incorporated a SketchUp model. The model was not so much the focus, or even a requested, of the project, but the data and interest were there, so… I modeled.

Briefly, the this project entailed documenting a series of foundation walls that are eroding from the edges of the Valley Creek in front of General Washington’s Headquarters in Valley Forge National Historic Park, Pennsylvania. Unable to control the flooding of this flashy little stream, the National Park Service asked that the walls be documented and a small area excavated to determine the age of the walls. As the records indicate, there were a number of mills at this location. Two of them dated to the mid 1700’s and were standing when George Washington called this plot home during the brutal winter of 1776.

To make a short story shorter, the archaeology was done, a nice foundation wall was exposed, and the eroding foundations were linked to the archaeology and historic maps. Construction methods and limited artifacts told us that the foundations eroding from the bank were more likely from the mid to late 1800’s and no the 1700’s. Finding a handful of late 1700’s artifacts underneath of the exposed foundation proved that it was older than the original mills. The conclusion: the foundation walls were part of the 1880’s Areca Paper mill. Built on and from the remnants of earlier buildings, this mill operated from 1880 to through the 1890’s. The entire complex was torn down in 1909 after the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania bought the property.In a super interesting twist, a comment received on the previous post of this models first generation, was from a gentlemen who had a family history tied to the mill! Paul Atkinson wrote:

“My Great grandfather worked at this mill in the late 1870 and 1880.My grandmother was born (1873) in a house just across the valley which her father bought after coming to the United States from England after the Civil War. Apparantly the mill went out of business late 1890.My grandmother tended cows on the very site of this mill. I recall seeing the foundation around 1940 or earlier when I very young. I was happy to see this historic reconstruction . The home my great grandfather bought in 1875 still stands and is a privite owned home . It was built in 1734..Seeing this gives me great pleasure. Also, knowing the fact my ggg grandfather served with Layfettye and George Washington at Valley Forge in 1777-1778. Paul Atkinson”

Using old documents and maps and the data we learned, I created a model of the Areca mill. (I <3 SketchUp!) Further establishing the historic visual context, I placed the mill model into photos of the landscape. This was a really fun part of the project (which was really my spare time, but people seemed to like it). Show is a recreation of an 1890’s photo.

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Juan A. Barcelo, of the Quantitative Archaeology Lab at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona offers a handful of very interesting articles and power point presentations on his site. Navigate by using the headings on the left-hand side labeled Analisis Espacial (Spatial Analysis), Estadistica (Set Theory), Inteligencia Artificial (Artificial Intelligence), and Visualizacion (Visualization). In each category are a group of papers and PowerPoint presentation on the selected topic. Many of these are written in Spanish, but a number are also in English. Note: the PowerPoint presentations require Internet Explorer to view.

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Google Earth Community user ATF strikes again with a wonderful textured and semi-transparent 3D model of King Tutankhamun’s tomb. The Google Earth model (available here) stands above the location where Howard Carter discovered the tomb entrance in 1922. While Google Earth does not yet have the ability to place models below the surface, this above ground rendition certainly gives you the impression. Once the model is loaded into GE, navigate through the layers of the model in the “Places” frame until you get to the various views of the burial chamber. These handy views position the camera at appropriate angels.

Following the King Tut theme, I recommend that anyone living in or traveling through the Philadelphia region check out the “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs” exhibit at the Franklin Institute Science Museum. This very well attended exhibit runs until September 30th 2007. Don’t forget to by your ticket ahead of time. There is also a King Tut Geocaching tour associated with the event!

I toured the exhibit last month and it was fantastic. I recommend purchasing the audio tour headphones. Although it seems like something that should be included, it is a nice companion. Besides, it helps to muffle the noise of the youngsters who have had their fill of ancient Egypt by the second room. I guess I can’t blame them. While the actual sarcophagus and burial mask of King Tutankhamen is not on display, a number of his personal burial items are. These include the canopic jar for his liver, gold necklace, and my favorite, his solid gold dagger. Very cool!

Thanks to Google Earth Blog for pointing out this new model!

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“EarthWorks“, a travelling exhibit that opened on June 20th at the Cincinnati Museum Center, Ohio, is a multimedia spectacle with an amazing centerpiece consisting of an immersing 3D journey through reconstructions of Native American “mound builder” villages and earthworks.

Technology of “EarthWorks” Exhibit
Beginning in the late 1990’s, John Hancock, University of Cincinnati professor of architecture and team member in the Center for the Electronic Reconstruction of Historical and Archaeological Sites (CERHAS) at the university, began to build interactive user environments set within reconstructed heritage sites. Simulations such as this, although popular at the time, were too large and unstructured, lacking feedback for the user and usually had over complex controls.

Noting the lack of usability, Dr. Hancock and the CERHAS team developed and new form of interaction consisting of an exploratory virtual reality framework, mixed multi-media presentations, and defined documentary narratives. Together, the mixture of media and documentation within an exploratory context create a “chose your own adventure” like experience where you learn and interact along a virtual path. The narrative and media experience has such a great depth that it is highlyT unlikely that a user could duplicate their previous path.

The end result of this “EarthWorks“ project is a 500 square foot traveling exhibit focused on the virtual reconstructions, but also including a very large map of the Ohio Valley area, a cross-cultural comparative time line, 3-D models of a series of earth works, and additional photos and narratives.
links to archaeology

A bit about the ancient Ohio Valley earth works

From around 600 BC to 1200 AD, the areas around Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and West Virginia were home to populations of Native Americans that archaeologists refer to as Adena, Hopewell, and Fort Ancient. These groups, beginning with the Adena, built increasingly complexity earth mounds that began as circles and cones, evolved to complex geometric shapes, and ended with great animal effigies. The arrangement of geometric shapes and animal effigies, some reaching 15 feet high and thousands of feet in length, constitute some of the earliest ancient observatories in the world.

Although many have been lost to time, some earth works have remained intact. One of the most striking examples in Serpent Mound in Adams County, Ohio. This mound is a 1,300 foot long, three feet high effigy of a snake. Another extant mound structure is the great Fort Ancient hill top enclosure in Fort Ancient, Ohio. Enclosing 100 acres, the hill top earthworks is formed by a 3 mile long wall enclosure that is as high as 23 feet in some sections. Both examples are central to the EarthWorks exhibit.

The fact that Dr. Hancock, who taught ancient architecture for 15 years, was unaware of the massive 2000 year old earthworks practically under his feet, underscores the point that most people do not know that natives of North America created large earthworks. Although the construction technology of these celestial observatories and religious sites is primitive, as compared to the Inca and Egyptians, the cultural structure and depth of knowledge that is needed to create them is just as advanced.

An EarthWorks project and resources CD Avaliable from CERHAS for $25.
The EarthWorks tour schedule includes the following date:

• Cincinnati Museum Center, with opening on June 20, 2006
• Ohio Historical Center, Columbus, where the exhibit will open Sept. 30, 2006
• Cleveland Museum of Natural History in 2007
• The Field Museum, Chicago, (as part of a permanent exhibit) in spring 2007
• Sunwatch Indian Village/Archaeological Park, Dayton, Ohio, set to open May 26, 2007

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Directed by Marc Waelkens, of the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, the dig at Sagalassos (wiki link) is a large-scale interdisciplinary excavation which began in 1990. Located in Southwest Turkey, Sagalassos is a very well preserved ancient city that has a history dating back to it’s growth before the conquest of Alexander the Great in 333 BC, to its transfer to king Amyntas in 25 BC, up to it’s final abandonment due to earthquakes and failing economy in the 7th century AD.

Featured as an “Interactive Dig” on Archaeology.org, the Sagalassos excavation is a fantastic example on using technology and well written text to bring archaeological digs, findings, and experiences to a wide audience. As part of the offerings at the Sagalassos, they have added a new KMZ network link to a Google Earth file documenting many aspects of the extensive excavation

KMZ of Sagalassos Archaeology
(link)

The Sagalassos KMZ file contains information about archaeological and architectural features, panoramic VR photo tours, overlain archaeology and geophysical maps, and links to field notes from throughout the project. In all, the Sagalassos KMZ contains a ton of interesting and informative media and links.

On first look, the KML displays an archaeological base map of the site and great custom “dig site” icons linked to multiple VR panoramas (which loads in a separate browser window), a photo, and often extensive field notes. Viewing the panoramas, from which you can zoom and pan, you get an incredible sense of what it looks like on site. Also, zoom out in Google Earth and tilt/pan with the terrain on. The landscape of the site, in the Taurus mountains, is very impressive.

In the Northeast area of the Sagalassos project, there is a georeferenced image of the composite geophysical survey findings. By turning off the top most map overlay and adjusting the transparency of the geophysical overlay, you can get a great appreciation for how complex the subsurface archaeology is at Sagalassos. As an armchair geophysicist, you can see detailed subsurface structures directly to the East of the Theater and about 30 meters to the West and Southwest. It looks like the dig team will have plenty more to work on in future seasons.

The links to the field notes bring you to the archaeology.org virtual dig page which includes field notes as well as pictures and some technical drawings of structures from that portion of the site. Heading back to the main page of the Sagalassos interactive dig, you can also find a journal of daily life around the dig site. These are interesting journal entries about the non-archaeological side of spending days in the field.

The archaeology.org interactive dig site gives the reader a load of great info about the site, the archaeology, and the team, but the inclusion of the Google Earth KMZ brings it all together. The place based presentation of the archaeology offer us a context to frame the data and experiences of the project. Further, users can now explore the site on their own via the map and panoramas and even find unexcavated archaeology by interpreting the geophysical results. Providing visual media such as this to a wide audience of specialists and non-specialists, and everyone in between, will certainly draw more attention to the importance of archaeology and allow viewers to share some of the same adventure and excitement as the archaeologists.

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As many of you many have read, in the past few days, Google has unleaded a number of improvements to their suite of tools. Google Earth is now redesigned in Beta 4 with the ability to display textures, Google Geo-Coding, Picasa has web albums, and KML upgraded to version 2.1. For in depth reviews of these changes, check out some of the links at the end of this post.

The purpose of this post is just to give a quick how-to on quickly displaying archaeological data and pictures by geotagging images in the new Picasa, creating a .kmz, and making it available to your colleagues or clients (new Google Earth EULA clearly state no commercial use). The process is quick simple, thanks to Google, and very quick.

Download the example .kmz here

To start with, I have a few photos of a dig site in South Eastern, Pennsylvania. I also have sketch-up models of the archaeological structural remains, and a model for the interpretation of the once standing structure. ( I have posted a little about making these models, but plan on a tutorial one day).

After downloading or upgrading to the new Picasa, your HD is scanned for photos, and you are ready to go. Find the photos you are interested in, select them, go to [Tools] -> [Geotag] -> [Geotage with Google Earth]. GE will open up and a large cross hair will be in the center of the screen. Navigate and zoom yourself to where your photo was taken (I had to click back to Picasa to see the little window which tells you the particular photo you are Geotagging).

Once located, click page to Picasa and “Geotag”. After a second, it will indicate that you are ready to geotag the next photo. Do this for all of your selected photos and click done. At this point, it will tell you that is is creating a .kmz of your photos. I was not sure where it saved this .kmz, so being lazy, I just right-clicked on the “temporary place” table of contents in GE and saved it as a .kmz in the folder I wanted it to. Now you have a .kmz file which uses your photos as the point icons, which are clickable for large images.
At this point, I brought in a model which represents the archaeological wall remains, extruded to show what is probably still underground. Combined with the photos, you can now see an archaeological interpretation complete with the photos of what it looked like in the filed. Better yet, it is georefferenced within its context. Zoom in, pan, tilt, to your heart is content. On top of this, I also included a model rendition of what the structure probably looked like. This model is based on archaeology, etchings, and maps. (by default it is turned off in the GE table of contents, go ahead and turn it on if you like).

This is a pretty quick example and even though it took me a few hours to make the Sketchup models, the Picasa Geotag part and .kmz creation took only minutes. I have not yet bothered to recreate the Sketchup models with textures, as GE Beta 4 now displays textures. Also, this process could have been faster, but running Flock Beta, GE 4 Beta, Picasa Beta, and Google Sketchup Beta all at the same time is quite a rough experience. A similar How-To for Picasa and GE can be found at ogleearth.com
I’m big into wanting people to see what I see as an archaeologist. It is a very secretive and data guarding profession. I want others to see a buried wall, and a 100 year old etching to make the same connections that I do. These new technologies make it easier by the day to share archaeological info and knowledge.

Check out these other blogs for current info on Googles redesigned products (Google 2.0? Has O’Reilly copyright that?):

OgleEarth

Google Earth Blog

Google Press Release

Google Maps Mania

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Since the discovery of the first Neanderthal (wikipedia) remains in Düsseldorf, Germany, 1856, Homo neanderthalensis has been one of the most studied human species. From findings across Europe and Western Asia, dating from ~230,000 to ~29,000 years ago, a sizable and diverse collections of Neaderthal remains and artifacts have been collected.

It is the goal of The Neanderthal Tools (TNT), in collaboration with The Neanderthal Studies Professional Online Service (NESPOS), to complete “Europe’s singular cultural heritage” for Neandethal remains, fossils, and ecofacts in a web based repository. This repository will offers tools for the examination and exploration of a complete archaeological workflow from site topography down to the 3D models and documentation of individual fossil finds.

“The TNT applications take advantage of state-of-the-art technology to provide a virtual public collection of fossils and artefacts which is open to the scientific community. The Neanderthal Tools enable scientifically valid research on virtual primary sources for the first time.”

The three tools used by the TNT to achieve this goal are the wiki based collaborative platform of NESPOS, the Visual Simulation and Collaborative Rendering Engine (VISICORE) Suite of GIS, annotation, and visualization software, and the National Geographic ArchChannel (NatAC), a public oriented web portal sponsored by National Geographic.

VISICORE: 3D GIS Tools for Archaeology

The VISICORE suite looks like an amazing set of tools. Within the suite there is The Artefact Exploration and Collaboration Rendering Engine (ArteCore) and The Geofact Mapping and Rendering Engine (GeoCore).

ArteCore is an artifact visualization and analysis program that allows users to explore Neaderthal fossils and finds. As part of the project, the TNT team and collaborators have CT scanned, created 3D models (in stl format), and 6 sided images which can all be accessed with ArteCore. Using the tools of ArteCore, these finds can be measured and analysis (using volume, angles, distance, area, etc…) as if they were the original specimens. ArteCore also has the capabilities to bring in multiple models in stl or X3D format, as well as, do CT to STL polyginization.

Further the GeoCORE Suite extends the visualization and analysis to the site level. Built off 3D Geo’s LandXPlorer, GeoCore allows for the visualization and integration of 3D GeoData in a number of popular formats. GeoCore also allows for the implementation of video, audio, and 2D media. Thematic mapping, virtual rendering, TINs, Bockstein Cross Sections, and map overlays are some of the functions supported by GeoCore.

The VISICORE suite, in total, is a multi-scalar analysis and visualization package that fits the mold of a archaeology/paleoarchaeology specific 3D GIS package. These tools are created by the TNT team and only avaliable through the NESPOS service.

NESPOS is the portal from which the vast amount of Neanderthal related data and imagery is served. In order to access this store house, you must be a member of the society. A Student membership is 30 Euro ($38.37) and a Single membership is 100 euro ($127.90). A membership includes a years access to the repository, scientific paper, VISICORE suite, and CT scans and STL 3D models of fossil finds. (I am not a member, nor affiliated with NESPOS. This is only for your information)

As an archaeologist, I have only a passive fascination with Neanderthal paleoarchaeology, but I am definitely tempted to join NESPOS just to play with the VISICORE suite of 3D GIS tool. Having scouted around a bit, I get the sense that the NESPOS is considering a limited form of public access to the Neaderthal database. As far as I am aware of, this project is the most advanced media and software enabled colobrative site going. As described by the site, a membership in NESPOS includes your own non-public data store. I assume this enables the user to store queries, notes, and favorte models and sites. Perhaps tagging is also invloved in this data store. As a comparitive project, although not Neaderthal specific, check out my post on the collabrotive archaeology data project at Open Context.

*Images are property of TNT and NESPOS

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The Theban Mapping Project, as seen last night on the Discovery Channel, is an amazing project dedicated to preservation, education, and the creation of a comprehensive archaeological database for the Valley of the Kings, Thebes (Luxor), Egypt. (Google Map).

The Valley of the Kings (Wikipedia), utilized primarily between 1539 BC - 1075 BC, is the resting place for the kings and Pharaohs of Egypt’s New Kingdom. Located on the West back of the Nile River, across from modern Luxor, this valley is the home of some of Egypt’s most famous figures, Tutankhamun (KV62), Amenhotep (KV39), and more recently The Sons of Ramessess (KV5), the Valley of the Kings has been attracting archaeologists, tourists, and grave robbers throughout antiquity. Due to this attention, much of the valley’s limited and invaluable resources have been plundered and destroyed.

In 1978, the Theban Mapping Project (TMP), began an ambitious program to document every aspect of the valley for future generations.

“The TMP believes that the first and most essential step in preserving this heritage is a detailed map and database of every archaeological, geological, and ethnographic feature in Thebes. Only when these are available can sensible plans be made for tourism, conservation, and further study.”

As seen by the “Atlas of the Valley of the Kings” on the TMP website and the Discovery Channel program last night, this project is producing astounding results. Viewing the TMP site, clicking on the “Atlas of the Valley of the Kings” opens a new window that explores the vast amount of spatial and archaeological information collected over the past 20 years. Once greeted with an overview map of the valley and its tombs, clicking on their plan will generate a short video or text description of its history. The atlas is searchable by KV number, if you have a favorite tomb, as well as a key word search. Another tab includes detailed information on each tomb including photos and video. While a final link is an interactive ortho plan of the valley’s tombs with has tools for zooming and measuring. Finally, clicking on the “3D Tomb” link on the bottom left of the atlas frame will launch a 3D experience which takes a narrated walk through of KV14 accompanied with photos of wall each chambers wall engravings and paintings. Similarly, the Atlas of the Theban Necropolis offers juicy visual media underlain by incredibly well documented archaeological data.

The TMP website and “Atlas” projects are an amazing product of archaeological information and visualization. Rarely do projects achieve such an in depth melding of data and visual context with deep rooted narration than anyone would find fascinating. If you have a few extra moments (and broadband to let the Atlas load), I highly recommend checking out the Theban Mapping Project website!

*panarama photo credit to Gilles Renault

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In a very similar fashion of the Google Earth “King Tut’s Tomb” model posted last week, Google Earth Commuity user “aft” has created a semi-transparent version of the Great Pyramid of Giza complete with tunnels and burial chambers. This model is constructed in the same ‘box-model’ style as King Tut’s Tomb in osrder to show the underground aspects of the pyramid without buring them under the terrain. Taking this a step further, aft adds transparency to the pyramid so that you can see the interworkings.

The techniques used by aft are great for showing hidden geometry and negative space. This technique is pretty well suited to archaeology but can certainly be used for a ton of other applications (test holes, geophysial data, etc…)

Use the different “views” provided with the model to get a good look at what the Great Pyramid of Giza has to offer.

Thanks to Google Earth Blog and OgleEarth for posting this earlier.

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Here is a link to a well done tutorial for creating 3D models of buildings using historic plans. This tutorial utilizes Inkscape for the vector data and Blender for 3D modeling. Both programs are available freely, for multiple platforms, under open source licenses and have active development communities.
This tutorial is created by Sanna Tammisto & Ari Häyrinen at 3D-Bridge. 3D-Bridge, “Transferring of Cultural Heritage with New Technology”) is a pan-European group the is established to foster heritage preservation through the melding of opensource technology with a mulitperspective architectural practices. As stated in the 3D-Bridge site, there objectves are:

• The target of the 3D-Bridge project is to develop tools of new technology based on an open source policy for the research and preservation of cultural heritage.
• The 3D-Bridge project will highlight the common European contents of regional cultural heritage research based on different geographic, ecological and cultural starting points.
• The 3D-Bridge project will translate European cultural heritage into the language of future societies and media literate generationbels.

IF you are interested in this organizations like this, check out the recent post on IOSA.it, “Open Source Software and Open Standards in Archaeology”

*image property of 3D-Bridge

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