In archaeological sites there are often several levels of ruins when the site has been constructed upon other ancient or prehistorical sites. It is very important for the archaeological research to map and monitor each step of the excavation. The traditional way for mapping of excavation is time consuming. Digital photogrammetry enables instead fast acquisition and processing of the data. Conti...

We report here on the 2007 discovery, in perfect archaeological context, of part of the engraved and ocre-stained undersurface of the collapsed rockshelter ceiling from Abri Castanet, Dordogne, France. The decorated surface of the 1.5-t roof-collapse block was in direct contact with the exposed archaeological surface onto which it fell. Because there was no sedimentation between the engraved su...

Archaeology is a discipline closely related to the representation of objects that are at the center of its concerns. At different times of the archaeological method, representation approach takes different forms. It takes place on the archaeological excavation, during the exploration, or in a second time in the warehouse, object after object. It occurs also in different drawing scales. The use ...

One of the major issues in buried archeological sites especially if characterized by intense human activity, complex structures, and several constructive phases, is: to what depth conduct the excavation? The answer depends on a number of factors, among these one of the most important is the a priori and reliable knowledge of what the subsoil can preserve. To this end, geophysics (if used in str...

Every archaeological excavation must deal with a vast number of ceramic fragments. The documentation, administration and scientific processing of these fragments represent a temporal, personnel, and financial problem. Therefore, we construct a documentation system for archaeological fragments to form the basis for a subsequent semi-automatic classification and reconstruction. The basis for clas...

Prompted by the increasing requirement for the fast but precise and detailed digital documentation of archaeological excavations and heritage artifacts, in this article we report our latest experience in capturing detailed 3D geometric information of two sites in Tuscany, Italy, using the image-based approach. We present a 3D recording flow-line, based on multi-image matching, capable of retrie...

Research on data quality through the analysis of accuracy and uncertainty has become a major development in GIS science. Fisher’s taxonomy provides solutions for the processing of uncertainty in spatial data representation. However, excavation data differs from geographical data, owing to the specific features of archeology such as incompleteness, temporal and functional aspects. Therefore, arc...

Archaeological data collection is based on the description of archaeological contexts. An archaeological excavation demolishes the original matrix within which the cultural material is found and special care is taken to record spatial context. Each artifact is described in terms of its physical and spatial properties as well as its relation to the matrix (for example soil composition). As sever...

The use of archaeological and anthropological methods in fatal fire scene investigation. This report will highlight some of the techniques and technologies of archaeologists and anthropologists that may be of assistance in fatal fire scene investigation. The value of archaeological techniques has been previously acknowledged in fire scene recovery and the primary principals of excavation are of...

Armadillos are medium-sized animals whose burrowing behavior can be significant in archaeological settings ranging from South America to the central United States. Although archaeologists are well aware that these animals can move archaeological materials across stratigraphic layers, few data are available about the magnitude of mixing, number of burrows per individual, dimension of burrows, an...