SWAU Applauded by Archeologists
(posted 10/25/04)
by Alexis Franklin, senior journalism major Debbie Battin, Director of Marketing/PR
Cutting edge technology gave Art Chadwick and Larry Turner, professors at Southwestern, recognition among archeologists in
Younker became interested after attending the annual SWAU Dinosaur Dig Project in
GPS is used to record data points regarding location, size, shape, and even quantity. “We want to share the advantages we experience through the use of this equipment,” said Chadwick. “GPS saves time, energy, and generates a higher level of accuracy.”
Once the information is recorded, SWAU uses computer software called GIS (Graphical Information System) to generate a model of the recorded points. An aerial photograph is digitally wrapped around the geographical information, creating a “highly accurate representation of the topography of the land.”
At the Jalul site, the archaeologists from Andrews excavated 5 fields. They found walls built and destroyed, and rebuilt. “This shows a succession of cities being built,” said Turner. These fields were each about 5 square meters, and had been dug deep into the ground. The archeologists’ job is to find remnants of walls, gates, and pottery. “These articles are a good way to study the date of the civilization, the conditions they lived in, and about how many people could have lived in those particular locations,” said Chadwick.
Archaeologists found many artifacts as well as structures built on top of other structures, where it was necessary to remove items to find more hidden artifacts. Roads from the 8th century, which is the time of the kings of
The archaeologists had been entering points of reference into the computer manually after using a 10 by 10 meter string graph and landscape surveying equipment. This method had taken about two weeks to record about 600 points. Chadwick and Turner used two GPS systems with base stations and rover units. The base station is planted in a stationary position on the site, the rover unit is programmed to record a data point every few meters, and points are recorded as a person walks around the entire site. Chadwick and Turner recorded close to 10,000 points in two days.
GPS is accurate up to one centimeter, artifacts can be measured and recorded into
the system instantly and accurately. This technology enhances archeology and points to the future in this field of research. “Our goal is to encourage archeologists to enhance themselves technologically,” said Chadwick. “We want to see them become the heads of their field.” Chadwick and Turner plan to return to Jalul next summer for six weeks to continue sharing GPS with archeologists there.