Dora Constantinidis
(Australia)
Many archaeological excavation plans still remain in an analog format. This paper proposes that GIS be applied for the digitisation of site plans in order to facilitate easier access for their analysis and final publication. However to enable comparative analyses to be made across many sites standard digitising techniques will need to be applied. The process used to digitise analog plans at the site of Akrotiri on Thera will be presented as an example of the site-specific digitisation of plans that is currently prevalent. No doubt there are many benefits due to the digitisation of site plans. Some of these benefits include the easier categorisation of buildings as separate entities, and in the case of Akrotiri subdivided by floor levels, showing their type and location relative to other buildings at the site. However if future exchange and comparison of data with other Bronze Age sites is required similar digitisation “rules” will have to be applied at all sites. It is proposed that an exchange of information about how other archaeological sites digitise the building plans is established to produce standards of digitisation whereby buildings can be recorded in the future. It is hoped that a process of standardising architectural data analysis and presentation can be developed by this exchange of information and terminology. Finally it is proposed that by digitising site plans and making them available over the internet there is the potential to determine if building typologies existed by comparing data from other sites. Excavation plans that are digitised in a standard way and are then made available over the internet can enable a deeper understanding of how the architectural heritage of a specific era and/or area developed.