The adaptation of existing imaging sonars for use on underwater sites will have widespread applicability to the nation’s thousands of submerged archaeological sites located in turbid waters that make detailed archaeological documentation impractical. LCMM has prototyped the feasibility and methodologies for this technology using a Blue View DF900-2250 Dual Frequency Miniature Multibeam Imaging System on sites in Lake Champlain.
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The effects of oil spills in terrestrial and marine environments are a growing concern globally, but understanding and mitigating these effects is a top priority at NCPTT.
Bone is a material with which most of us are familiar. Bone is made up of a combination of proteins: minerals like calcium and potassium: and vitamins. Bones are [...]
Can chemistry lead to better understanding of archeological objects? Ask Dr. Evan Peacock from the Cobb Institute of Archaeology at Mississippi State University. With funding from NCPTT, Peacock is using an analytical technique called Laser Ablation-inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analyzing spoons made of freshwater mussel shell. Spoons like these were used to smooth pottery [...]
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The shell middens, forts, and shipwrecks of the Gulf area are treasures that represent a wide swath of history—a veritable gumbo of cultural treasures. Dr. Meredith Hardy, an archeologist with the National Park Service’s Southeast Archeological Center (SEAC), explains the importance of these cultural resources and how they are being protected.
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Like archeological information on paper, the archeological information we get in digital form must be both appropriate and trustworthy. The forms we can obtain must be the right ones for the job — cost effective and usable. At the same time, what we receive — capta, information, knowledge or summary — must be dependable, resulting from transformations that we can understand and evaluate.
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We developed a plasma-chemical technique to remove carbon from rock paintings. This extraction is followed by
accelerator mass spectrometric analysis of the 14C to yield direct estimates of the ages of rock paintings. We have demonstrated
use of the technique on charcoal as well as iron and manganese pigmented paintings. Unfortunately, there are no rock paintings made with inorganic pigments that have accurately known ages. That means there are no primary standards for checking the accuracy and validity of our technique on this type of samples. To compensate for this, known age samples (charcoal and Third International Radiocarbon Intercomparison wood) were dated: these support the general validity of this technique.
In this edition of the Preservation Technology Podcast, we meet Eric Schindelholz, a conservator in private practice who specializes in metals and marine archaeological materials. Eric was the principal investigator for a PTT Grant Project that examined methods to dry waterlogged archaeological wood.
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In this edition of the Preservation Technology Podcast, we’ll meet Carla Schroer of Cultural Heritage Imaging. The non-profit organization recently used a PTT Grant to hold a workshop on 3D digital rock art documentation and preservation.
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Much of the information needed for effective archeological preservation is hard to see. For objects, sometimes that information is encased by layers of corrosion. For whole sites, sometimes it is buried beneath centuries of sediment. And sometimes that information is inaccessible simply because it has not been shared with others. In 2009, NCPTT focused on looking “beneath the surface.” It focused on using technology to see what was hidden, to see what preservation clues could be revealed, and, critically, how those discovery methods could be taught to other professionals.
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Today we join NCPTT’s David Morgan as he speaks to Graeme Earl of the University of South Hampton in the UK about digital survey methods in archeology and “born digital” records.
Download Episode 9 as an mp3 or subscribe via iTunes.
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