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Geoinformatics_03-2009
article darren robins, faro uk, using the faro fusion arm to capture and record some iron age ridge wear pottery. productions have been doing with immersive environments like second life and twinity complemented both presentations because image based datasets are better for modelling than dense laser based acquired datasets. joao barbosa provided a light based twist on image manipulation with reflective transformation imaging. range based data capture, application and manipulation was provided by david southam, faro uk, erwin christofori, christofori and partners, malkhaz datukishvilli and lindsey bedford, university of plymouth. finally, dr michael ashley and dr garry tregidga provided discussions on the problems of archiving, with michael focusing on web semantics and garry on audio-visual archives. conclusion the future of the digital preservation of cultural heritage rests in the hands, and is the responsibly of, the individual in the present. technology is only as good as the person using or interacting with it. acquisition and interpretation of any information, be it geospatial, coordinated or otherwise, is as much about capturing the hearts and minds of people as it is data capture. this should never be lost at any stage of the process. the documentation of any archaeological or heritage related site represents not only the physical palimpsest of layer upon layer of anthropogenic activity but also one of cultural influence and ideas. far too many endeavours related to digital surveys or produc- tions of cultural heritage ignore this at present; going for a short-term solution to digital documentation (particularly in the laser scanning or digital photogrammetry sense) that is overly concerned with too often transient and immediate needs to pin down or control constantly changing technologies and workflows. continued discourse relating to nonmalleable standards of best practice and a need for metric specifications offers a prime example. it is therefore of paramount importance to stress the relationship between the object and the instrument used is not that easily explained. each site or artifact is idiosyncratic and a completely new experience to an extent, with no one device being the same and also having a separate history that will affect the data captured with it in the long term. technologies feed into a larger suite of tools and network of agents, such as software or immersive environment able to use and modify the data collected. very human information and data, of which reliability is often not questioned and overly objectified by the scientific connotations and presumptions associated with the term digital. the varying degree of identifiable presence of digital workflows and data flows cannot be pinned down within a geomatics context by previous conventions like the standard box-to-box workflow. the week s workshops reiterated and outlined this through creating a platform and forum in which the notion digital archaeology (of which digital geomatic instruments are an integral part of ) was discussed. the very healthy intellectual climate in place was non-static; a constantly changing flow of ideas that could not be contained, settled, compartmentalised or stratified into different layers or sediments within any one space. with the increased use of digital media comes a blurring of skill sets and thought processes. the future of the digital preservation of cultural heritage is one that should span across all professional and disciplinary boundaries, with cross-pollination and the intermingling of skill sets being key. poet, scribe, photographer, musician, skilled artisan, artist and sculpture are as of much value to sites and the digital artifacts being created, as the geomatics specialists now creating them in the field. caradoc peters rutcpeters@plymouth.ac.uk, programme leader of the bsc (hons) in archaeology at truro college (university of plymouth colleges). adam spring adamspring@googlemail.com, co-director of the archaeovault and visiting lecturer with the university of plymouth. dr michael ashley and joao barbosa setting up the reflective transformation imaging exercise inside truro cathedral. latest news? visit www.geoinformatics.com 57 april/may 2009
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