Teaching 3D archaeological documentation in the field and classroom
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 09/10/2020

The  3D  field-documentation  courses  of  the  Finnish  Institute  at  Athens  were  started  in  2014  and they have been run at the Bronze Age site of Tiryns in the Argolid and at the Archaic to Hellenistic town at Ambelakia on Salamis. Their aim has been to train students without previ-ous experience in archaeological documentation to work with reflectorless total stations and photogrammetry. In 2014–2016 and 2018 these courses and fieldwork were run in collaboration with Leiden University. In these field-courses students were introduced to both equipment and software used in intensive 3D feature-by-feature documentation. They learn to use reflectorless total stations as a drawing tool and the advantages the method has over traditional static total station work with prism. The second technique taught was photogrammetry, including how to combine  the  produced  line-documentation  with  photogrammetry  models.  Students  quickly  learned the principles of 3D work and how to use the hardware and post-processing software. Behind the fast learning process lies in the one-to-one teaching and the hands-on work with in-situ archaeological remains. The time in the field and number of repetitions need to be intense enough so that the procedures become automatic. This paper aims to illustrate the field-course processes and how used methods have developed over the years. It discusses how the obtained skills  have  fed  into  the  subsequent  studies  and  research  of  the  students  and  colleagues  who  have  participated.  Teaching  on  the  field  courses  is  compared  with  running  classroom-based  3D documentation teaching at Royal Holloway, University of London.


Jari Pakkanen, Ann Brysbaert