Colloquy Cycle on Tuesday, October 30, 2001 - 11:00

During an archaeological dig, a great deal of data relating to stratigraphic positioning (SP) is recorded. This data is recorded in a variety of different formats, individual excavation logbooks, stratigraphy forms, and in theodolites. The widely used archaeological practice of analysis and representation of SP is the Harris Matrix approach [Harri89]. This is a valuable technique to analyse and compare 2D SP data, now with the advent of cheap and powerful 3D computing, there is a growing need for the archaeologist on site to test hypotheses and gain immediate results. The 3D representation and analysis of this SP data, with the ability to perform real-time hypotheses without prolonged sifting through hard copies of excavation logbooks presents a real innovation to future archaeological interpretation. The ability to replay the excavation in a timely order, stratum by stratum after it has been allows both the casual user and the specialist archaeologist insight previously not possible.