Back to top: Methods and Techniques
Methods and Techniques
Evaluating the capability of individual area supervisors to manage data was another important aspect of this project. Frederico Buccellati successfully used a prototype of such a system last season. Next season each excavation team will enter and process all journal, relay and marker files. The teams will also write script files, which are inputs to a CAD program that will plot the results of the relays. In addition, a digital camera will be used in conjunction with a computer drawing program to prepare templates for area photography. The overall goal of these improvements is to be able to publish a book of the results of the excavation soon after it is closed and to feed back information about discrepancies in time to address them while the excavation is still active.
Although the quantity of data was somewhat less than would be produced from a full excavation, we were able to enter it and process it within a few days of the time it was obtained. The system flagged several instances where entries were missing or misleading. These were immediately corrected. The digital camera produced outstanding images that were well suited to the development of templates. We were not able to produce the templates in a timely manner because the excavators were unfamiliar with the drawing program and the images were not immediately available for their use. Also, as of this writing, the markers have not been surveyed so the data on localization can not be incorporated into Mozan’s global record.
In summation, we had not anticipated such an important opportunity to learn about the early history of Urkesh. With the knowledge we have gained, we will be able to plan future probes away from the main tell. The proposed changes to the data system have been validated and we can easily overcome the problems of producing digital templates.
Back to top: Methods and Techniques