While traditionally archaeological research has mainly been focused on individual cultural heritage monuments or distinct archaeological sites, the Austrian based Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual... more
While traditionally archaeological research has mainly been focused on individual cultural heritage monuments or distinct archaeological sites, the Austrian based Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology goes beyond the limitations of discrete sites in order to understand their archaeological context. This is achieved by investigating the space in-between the sites, studying entire archaeological landscapes from the level of individual postholes to the mapping of numerous square kilometres. This large-scale, high-resolution, multi-method prospection approach leads to enormous digital datasets counting many terabytes of data that until recently were technically not manageable. Novel programs and methods of data management had to be developed for data acquisition, processing and archaeological interpretation, in order to permit the extraction of the desired information from the very big amount of data. The analysis of the generated datasets is conducted with the help of semi-automatic algorithms within complex three-, or even four-dimensional geographical information systems. The outcome of landscape archaeological prospection surveys is visually communicated to the scientific community as well as to the general public and stakeholders. In many cases, a visualization of the scientific result and archaeological interpretations can be a powerful and suitable tool to illustrate and communicate even complex contexts to a wide audience. This paper briefly presents the great potential offered by a combination of large-scale non-invasive archaeological prospection methods and standardized workflows for the integration of big data, its interpretation and visualization. The proposed approach provides a context for buried archaeology across entire archaeological landscapes, changing our understanding of known monuments. We address the overcome and remaining challenges with the help of examples taken from outstanding landscape archaeological prospection case studies. Resumen: Aunque tradicionalmente la investigación arqueológica ha estado fundamentalmente centrada en monumentos y yacimientos arqueológicos de forma individual, el Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology (Austria) va más allá de los límites de yacimientos particulares con el objetivo de entender su contexto arqueológico. Esto es conseguido mediante la investigación del espacio entre yacimientos y estudiando paisajes arqueológicos completos yendo desde un hoyo de poste hasta el mapeado de varios kilómetros cuadrados. El enfoque de prospección multi-metodológico a gran escala y de alta resolución conduce hacia un enorme conjunto de datos digital que incluye varios Terabytes de información los cuales no habían podido ser manipulados hasta hace poco debido a limitaciones tecnológicas. Por consiguiente, nuevos programas y métodos de gestión de datos han sido diseñados para la adquisición y procesado de datos así como interpretación arqueológica para así permitir la extracción de la información deseada desde estos enormes bancos de datos. El análisis de estos conjuntos de datos generados es llevado a cabo a través de análisis de sistemas de información geográfica tridimensionales e incluso cuatridimensionales. El resultado de la prospección de paisajes arqueológicos es transferido de forma visual a la comunididad científica así como al gran público e interesados en la materia. En muchos casos una visualización de los resultados científicos e interpretaciones arqueológicas puede ser una herramienta más poderosa y adecuada para ilustrar y comunicar contextos arqueológicos complejos a un público mayor. Este artículo presenta de forma breve el gran potencial ofrecido por la combinación de métodos de prospección arqueológica de gran resolución a gran escala y unos flujos de trabajo estandarizados para integración, interpretación y visualización de datos. La estrategía propuesta proporciona un contexto para restos arqueológicos enmarcados en paisajes arqueológicos que viene a cambiar nuestra This work is licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) EDITORIAL UNIVERSITAT POLITÈCNICA DE VALÈNCIA forma de entender monumentos ya conocidos. Pretendemos también superar los desafios que quedan con la ayuda de ejemplos sacados de excepcionales paisajes arqueológicos que son nuestros estudios de caso a prospectar. Palabras clave: big data, gran escala, alta resolución, métodos no-invasivos, prospección arqueológica, métodos geofísicos en superficie, arqueología virtual, interpretación de datos, arqueología del paisaje, preservación, difusión.
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Calcifications commonly occur in association with soft tissue inflammation. However, they are not often discussed in palaeopathological literature, frequently due to problems of identification and diagnosis. We present a calcified object... more
Calcifications commonly occur in association with soft tissue inflammation. However, they are not often discussed in palaeopathological literature, frequently due to problems of identification and diagnosis. We present a calcified object (40 × 27 × 27 cm) found with a middle-aged male from a post-medieval cemetery in Vienna. It was not recognized during excavation, thus its anatomical location within the body remains unknown. The object was subject to X-ray, SEM and CT scanning and compared to historic pathological objects held in the collection of the Natural History Museum Vienna. Two of closest resemblance, a thyroid adenoma and goitre were subject to similar analytical techniques for comparison. Despite similarities between all objects, the structure of the object most closely conforms to a thyroid tumor. Nevertheless, due to similar pathophysiological pathways and biochemical composition of calcified soft tissue, a secure identification outside of its anatomical context is not possible. The research further highlights the fact that recognition of such objects during excavation is crucial for a more conclusive diagnosis. Historic medical records indicate that they were common and might therefore be expected to frequently occur in cemeteries. Consequently, an increasing the dataset of calcifications would also aid in extending the knowledge about diseases in past human populations.
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Non-destructive prospection methods provide a powerful toolbox to explore Archaeological Heritage while it is still protected untouched below the actual surface. Due to recent technical developments in high resolution large scale... more
Non-destructive prospection methods provide a powerful toolbox to explore Archaeological Heritage while it is still protected untouched below the actual surface. Due to recent technical developments in high resolution large scale non-invasive archaeological prospection by the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology (LBI ArchPro) like motorized multi-channel Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), multi-sensor Magnetometry or Airborne Remote Sensing it became possible to efficently explore square kilometers of archaeological landscapes in high detail. Using a georeferenced Archaeological Information System (AIS) to compare, combine and interpret the archaeological information embedded within prospection and excavation data enable spatio-temporal analyses to derive the cultural development of an archaeological landscape.
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Abstract— Innovative methods (e.g. geophysical prospection, remote sensing prospections, 3D modeling and visualization) adapted to Cultural Heritage and Archaeology open a wide field of research which needs appropriate techniques, skills... more
Abstract— Innovative methods (e.g. geophysical prospection, remote sensing prospections, 3D modeling and visualization) adapted to Cultural Heritage and Archaeology open a wide field of research which needs appropriate techniques, skills and workflows. However, Virtual Archaeology (VA) must be understood not only as a passive instrument for visualizing the data and results but rather as a digital tool that provides an interactive four dimensional framework where the user is able to visualize, explore, analyze and evaluate both raw-data and 3D reconstructions. In this paper we would like to present a new developed interactive application called Arch4DInspector developed by the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology (LBI ArchPro).