Matylda GIERSZEWSKA / Piotr NOSZCZYNSKI

(Kaiserpfalz Ingelheim Forschungsstelle, Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany)

Outline: Using OpenSource Software (Quantum-GIS/GRASS GIS) for management, integration and spatial analysis archaeological features and finds.

Geographical Information System has a great potential to handle and analyse spatial data. Archaeological information, features and finds are also spatially distributed.
This paper focuses on the creation of a comprehensive spatial database for the documentation of archaeological excavation and the use of this system for further analysis. The main aim of this work is not only to join together all archaeological features and finds, but also to understand the spatial distribution of these objects. In this project GIS – Open Source Software (QuantumGIS, GRASS GIS) was used as the main platform.
Archaeological excavations of mediaeval settlements in Ingelheim (Germany) were carried out between 1994 – 2006. There were found inter alia remains of pits, pit houses and various stone constructions.
For the creation of the database we used different information sources: old and modern cadastrals of Ingelheim and topographical maps (in scale 1:5000), excavation reports, field drawings and images.
The first part of the poster will present the database preparation process. It will be also explained, how various elements of the archaeological documentation were digitized and brought together into one system. In addition to this, we will also demonstrate an approach to the integration of geographical and archaeological information.
As preliminary results primary spatial analysis of archaeological features and related finds will be delineated. Subsequently, we will depict the generating process of the historical digital elevation model (DEM) for this settlement.
The further purpose of the project is the investigation of the wide context for this findspot and the integration of results with information from the whole settlement cluster in Ingelheim.

Keywords: GIS, OpenSource, Data Management, Spatial Analysis, DEM