Archaeological illustration is a form of
technical illustration
Technical Illustration is illustration meant to visually communicate information of a technical nature. Technical illustrations can be components of technical drawings or diagrams. Technical illustrations in general aim "to generate expressive ...
that records material derived from an
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...
context graphically.
[Barker 1977]
Overview
Archaeological Illustration encompasses a number of sub disciplines. These are:
* ''
Surveying
Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ...
'': To produce an accurate record of sites and buildings and to record accurately where the sites and buildings lie within the landscape. Surveyors use a range of equipment including tapes,
plane tables,
total stations,
3D scanners,
GPS and
GIS
A geographic information system (GIS) is a type of database containing geographic data (that is, descriptions of phenomena for which location is relevant), combined with software tools for managing, analyzing, and visualizing those data. In a ...
to produce
illustration
An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vide ...
s including
plans
A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an objective to do something. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal.
...
,
sections and elevations as well as
isometric and
axonometric illustrations which are regularly used in building recording. Survey data will be gathered on acid free paper,
polyvinyl permatrace and archive stable
digital formats.
[Archaeological Data Service digital data standards]
Digital Archives from Excavation and Fieldwork: Guide to Good Practice 2nd Edition
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* ''Photography
Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed i ...
'': To produce a record of archaeological sites, buildings, artifacts and landscapes. Archaeological photographers will uses a range of different formats particularly black-and-white and colour slide.Digital photography
Digital photography uses cameras containing arrays of electronic photodetectors interfaced to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to produce images focused by a lens, as opposed to an exposure on photographic film. The digitized image is ...
is now starting to become more widely used and is especially useful for the recording of historic building. Aerial photography
Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography.
Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wing air ...
is commonly used as a tool for recording sites and is also used as a prospecting tool to locate new archaeological sites.
* '' Artefact illustration'': To record objects using agreed conventions to allow further study of the objects by specialists on publication.[The Graphics Archaeology Group of the IfA](_blank)
(GAG) provide a range of guidance documents online. Artefact illustrators will use pen-and-ink as well as graphics and page layout software.
* ''Interpretation and reconstruction illustration'': To visualise the results of archaeological field work in a way that is meaningful and visually appealing to as many as possible.[Hodgson 2000] Reconstruction artists work in many media from traditional pen-and-ink and painted reconstruction to more modern techniques including 3D, virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), e ...
and video
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) sy ...
.
File:Brooch_(FindID_611470).tif, Small Square-Headed brooch of Anglo-Saxon at 2:1 scale
File:HUA-214641-Plattegrond_van_het_terrein_en_de_bebouwing_van_de_voormalige_St_Paulusabdij_Hamburgerstraat_met_aangrenzende_straten_en_bebouwing_te_UtrechtMet_weerg.jpg, Map of the grounds and buildings of the former St. Paulus Abbey (Hamburgerstraat)
File:Phase.001.png, Sequence of 3 archaeological phases
See also
* Archaeological field survey
In archaeology, survey or field survey is a type of field research by which archaeologists (often landscape archaeologists) search for archaeological sites and collect information about the location, distribution and organization of past human c ...
* Archaeological plan
In archaeological excavation, a plan is a drawn record of features and artifacts in the horizontal plane.
Overview
Archaeological plan can either take the form of
* a "multi context" plan, which is drawn with many contexts on it to show relat ...
* Archaeological record
The archaeological record is the body of physical (not written) evidence about the past. It is one of the core concepts in archaeology, the academic discipline concerned with documenting and interpreting the archaeological record. Archaeological ...
* Archaeological section
In archaeology a section is a view in part of the archaeological sequence showing it in the vertical plane, as a cross section, and thereby illustrating its profile and stratigraphy. This may make it easier to view and interpret as it developed ...
* Excavation (archaeology)
In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...
* M. Louise Baker (archaeological illustrator)
* Post excavation
Post-excavation analysis constitutes processes that are used to study archaeological materials after an excavation is completed. Since the advent of "New Archaeology" in the 1960s, the use of scientific techniques in archaeology has grown in impo ...
* Training excavation Training excavations are normally run by university departments or large contractors and employ professional archaeologists to teach the basics of archaeological methodology, including photography, stratigraphy, illustration and draughtsmanship a ...
References
Further reading
* Philip Barker (1977). ''Techniques of Archaeological Excavation,'' Batsford
* Adkins, L. and Adkins, R.A (1989). ''Cambridge Manuals in Archaeology: Archaeological Illustration'' Cambridge University Press
* John Hodgson (2000). ''Archaeological reconstruction: illustrating the past,'' AAI&S & IFA
* Griffiths, N. Jenner, A. and Wilson, C. (2002). ''Drawing Archaeological Finds: A Handbook'' Archetype
* Melanie Steiner (2005). ''Approaches to Archaeological Illustration: A Handbook,'' Council for British Archaeology
* The MoLAS archaeological site manual MoLAS, London 1994.
External links
The Chartered Institute for Archaeologists
The Graphics Archaeology Group of the IfA
An online demonstration of how an archaeological illustrator goes about their work.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Archaeological Illustration
Methods in archaeology
Drawing
Technical drawing
Infographics