GPS Surveying in Archaeological Fieldwork

The analysis of spatial relationships between artifacts, architecture, and other elements of an ancient site is a fundamental aspect of archaeological research. providing insights into past cultures. In supplying this spatial data, surveying lays the groundwork for all further archaeological investigation.

In the mid 1980s, MASCA began to develop surveying software that could be linked up to the newly perfected Total Station—an electronic surveying instrument that uses a laser to measure distances. Our goal was to improve the ability of archaeologists to excavate on a wide variety of sites worldwide, and to ensure that the then cutting edge equipment was user-friendly. The measure of success of this strategy lies in the fact that our software, SiteMap, has already been used at over 20 sites on five continents. It was instrumental in finding the ritual boat graves beside a Dynasty I funerary enclosure at Abydos, in Egypt; and in locating the burials of several Maya kings within the river-cut stratigraphy of Copan, in Honduras. SiteMap is now being used to define the construction elements of collapsed Temple A at Petra, in Jordan, prior to its 3D-reconstruction; and to unravel the changes in land use at deserted medieval villages in northern England.

The present thrust of MASCA surveying research is to incorporate high-end GPS technology. Although precision GPS equipment is still relatively expensive, GPS surveying has many advantages over Total Station surveying, among them the fact that it requires just a single operator. GPS receivers are unaffected by obstructions on the ground like high brush, trees, or walls which can cripple a Total Station’s ability to record data. And measurements from a GPS survey are instantaneous, versus the minimum of about 12 seconds that Total Stations require to record data, even in optimal situations. Currently, the archaeological world has reached the same stage with GPS technology as it had with total stations two decades ago. Well-funded projects are beginning to use precision GPS receivers for simple purposes, but they have yet to use its capabilities to the full in all aspects of archaeological surveying.

e-mail: William Fitts