Dig, Draw, and Digitise 2012
This three week course is intended for students interested in undertaking their own archaeological research, and is ideal for post-graduate students preparing for dissertation research (and even ambitious undergrads!) or members of archaeological interest groups looking to expand their field skills.
Special offer
Dates Available
13th August to 28th August 2012
'Dig, Draw and Digitise'. 3 week course - Ideal for undergraduate and post-graduate students and other interest groups.
This Course has been designed specifically for Irish and British undergraduate and graduate archaeology students and is suitable for the fulfilment of mandatory fieldwork requirement.
This new course that commenced in 2011 will again be on offer again in 2012. It is a three-week course and is intended for students interested in undertaking their own archaeological research, and is also ideal for post-graduate students preparing for dissertation research (and even ambitious undergrads!) or members of archaeological interest groups looking to expand their field skills.
In the first week students undertake a small excavation across a section of a Neolithic or Bronze Age fieldwall, sealed beneath the blanket bog on the southern side of Slievemore. The investigation of the fieldwall covers all aspects of an archaeological excavation, beginning with removing the topsoil and overlying peat, carefully trowelling through the intact archaeological deposits, drawing sections across the wall, planning the trench, taking levels, taking archaeological photographs and filling in the written record.
In the second week students undertake a series of exercises in field surveying at a range of archaeological sites on Achill. The exercises include, drawing measured sketches, drawing measured plans, recording profiles using the level, preparing detailed fieldnotes, surveying with the EDM (Electronic Distance Measurer) and recording using GPS units (Global Positioning System) .
In the third week students bring their work from the previous weeks into the Achill Field School computer lab and learn how to turn the results of their fieldwork into professional quality digital drawings and databases. Students will learn the way in which data is entered into and manipulated by computers using powerful programs such as AutoCad, ArcGis and Illustrator.
On completion of this course the student should be fully able to undertake their own studies and produce professional looking results using the methods learnt during their course.