virtual environments for research in archaeology (mark baker)
DESCRIPTION
The VERA (Virtual Environment for Research in Archaeology) project is based on a research excavation of part of the large Roman town at Silchester in north Hampshire, which aims to trace the site's development from its origins before the Roman conquest to its abandonment in the fifth century A.D. The VERA project aims to investigate how archaeologists use Information Technology (IT) in the context of a field excavation, and also for post-excavation analysis. The project is investigating the impact of e-Infrastructure and the take-up of digital devices on an archaeological community. VERA is a two-year project funded by the JISC VRE 2 programme, involving researchers from the University of Reading, University College London, and York Archaeological Trust. In this talk I will outline and discuss the core aspects of the VERA project, ranging from on-site activities and usability studies, through to collaborative work with the archaeological community, and the technical developments to support fieldwork and post excavation analysis.TRANSCRIPT
9th November 2009
Presented by: Prof Mark Baker
ACET, University of Reading Tel: +44 118 378 8615
E-mail: [email protected] Web: http://acet.rdg.ac.uk/~mab
The Virtual Environments for Research in Archaeology (VERA)
http://vera.rdg.ac.uk/
9th November 2009
Outline• Aims and objectives of the VERA project.• On-site activities:
– Silchester,– IADB,– IT Infrastructure,– Digital devices.
• Technological Development:– Portal Bridge,– Cross archival database searching,– 3D Visualisation.
• Summary and Conclusions.
The VERA Project
• VERA is based on a research excavation of part ofa large Roman town at Silchester:– It aims to trace the site's development from its origins!
• Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum), is the site of a late Iron Age and Roman settlement, and lies between Reading and Basingstoke, in Hampshire.
• VERA was a two-year project funded by the JISC under the VRE 2 programme – started in April 2007 – we had a six month extension this year.
• It involves researchers from the University of Reading, University College London, and York Archaeological Trust.
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VERA Aims• The overall aim of the project is to assess, enhance
and introduce new digital tools and technologies that can aid the archaeological processes of recording, manipulating and analysing archaeological data.
• To help this process we introduced and tested a variety of new digital devices on-site:– We integrated them into the archaeological workflow with the
aim of enhancing and speeding up the process of recording information.
• Our goal was to create a situation where “the information flows seamlessly from excavation, through post-excavation to archive and publication”.
• In addition, we created various tools and utilities that helped the post-excavation research processes.
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Silchester/VERA Web sites
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http://www.silchester.rdg.ac.uk/
http://vera.rdg.ac.uk/
Silchester – An Overview• The Silchester site is used as a research and training
excavation (100+ people) that has been taking place for 12 years.
• The excavation takes place annually in July/August for about 6 weeks and includes a variety of archaeologists ranging from very experienced ones through to novices.
• The annual excavation allows us to: – Study the use of IT in an archaeological context; – Investigate the tasks carried out within an excavation; – Ascertain how and where technologies can be used to facilitate
information flow within a dig; – Inform the developers how to adapt the tools used in the trench and
for post dig analysis.
• To ensure that the software and tools are appropriate - we engaging all the on-site team and the researchers who undertake post excavation analysis in the usability studies.
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The Silchester ‘Town Life’ Project
• Research excavation and Undergraduate Field School since 1997.
• One of the largest open area excavations in the country.
• Trace the site's development from its origins before the Roman Conquest to its abandonment in the fifth century A.D.
• More information can be found on the project Web site (http://vera.rdg.ac.uk/).
Integrated Archaeological Database (IADB)
• Silchester has used the IADB since the Town Life project began in 1997.
• It contains most of the archaeological information gathered on site, including digital versions of context sheets, finds records, environmental records, photos, plans and matrices.
• Post excavation digitising used to take more than 6 months to archive!
The IADB
• IADB is a key component within the Silchester and the VERA project.
• The IADB was designed to address the data management requirements throughout the lifespan of archaeological excavation projects: – From initial excavation recording, through post-excavation
analysis and research to eventual dissemination and archiving.
• THE IADB is used for recording:– Finds, Contexts, Sets, Groups, Phases, Objects, Images,
Illustrations, Stratigraphy Diagrams, Documents and Bibliography References.
• Based on MySQL, PHP, Javascript, AJAX and SVG.
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[email protected] November 2009
VERA Aims and Methodology
Project Aims• Enhance the means of
documenting and archiving archaeological excavation data.
• Create a Web portal that provides enhanced tools for the user community.
• Develop tools that work with existing practices of research archaeologists unfamiliar with a VRE.!
• Test these tools out in the field with the archaeologists.
Methodology• Introduce new digital
devices and software tools.
• Find out what people think of the IADB, the software tools and recording system.
• What else do people actually want from them?
• Further develop the IADB, tools and recording system.
• Test and update them until everyone is happy!
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Site Recording: Context Cards
• Context cards describe the smallest unit of archaeology that it is possible to record: • Traditionally recorded
with pen and paper.• In 2008, more than 1352
contexts were recorded, around 43% of these with the digital pens.
• In 2007, one area (one team) piloted 5 digital pens.
• In 2008, 14 pens were in use over the whole trench.
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Gathering Data with Digital Pens
• Logitech IO2 digital pens.• Look and write like normal
pens on what looks like normal paper.
• A camera inside the pen records what has been written and the order in which the pen strokes were made.
• Optical character recognition (OCR) software interprets what is written in a sequential fashion!
Docking the Pens
• The pages are imported and interpreted by software. • Text is converted using hand writing OCR and diagrams are saved as images.
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Experiences of using the Digital Pens
Love:• Simple to use and train
people with.• Robust (weather, mud and
student proof).• Speeds up post-
excavation work.• Encourages legible
handwriting.• Paper master copy
created in the trench in case of computer related disaster!
Hate:• Mix of lower case and
capitals hard to read.• User needs to be able to
fill in context sheets without prompts.
• User needs to keep the correct pen and book combination.
• Odd formatting in some records.
• Student or supervisor errors?
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Excavation Summary
• 591 out of 1352 or 44% of context cards recorded with the digital pens.
• Simple training.• Robust (weather, mud and
student proof).• Speeds up post-excavation
work (context cards must otherwise be transcribed).
• Encourages legible handwriting.
• Paper master copy created in the trench in case of computer related disasters.
Other trials• We also experimented with:
– Hand-held IPAQs – good for querying database,– Ruggedised tablet PCs – sunlight a major problem,– Nokia 800s – OK, but hard to use on-site.– Digimemo pads – useful, but not very robust!– Wireless Web Cams.
9th November 2009 [email protected]
Technical Programming Aspects• The technical programming development in VERA
is based on enhancing the portal that was used during the JISC VRE 1 programme, known as OGHAM, which hosted the IADB.
• The IADB source code had to be changed: – Updated global variables and added extra code for
security purposes so that the system would work with a more secure version of PHP.
• We decided that instead of adapting the OGHAM portal to work within a JSR-168 portlet, we would consume the portal within a portlet using bridging technologies: – This approach has a number of advantages, which
includes not forking the original application code, and not having to support any code migrated into a portlet.
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The Recycle Bridge
• The Recycle Bridge uses an iframe to display the embedded application inside the portal.
• From the users perspective the application looks like part of the portal.
• We wrote a portlet called the Recycle Bridge which sets a cookie containing the username of the user logged into the portal.
• There are settings for the Recycle Bridge to alter the appearance of the iframe to try and make the integration seamless from the users perspective.
• Single Sign On (SSO) - we use the client (web browser) to link the authentication information between the portal and the embedded application being consumed.
9th November 2009
Searching Across Multiple Archival Databases
• The communities involved in archaeology and the preservation of ancient documents are increasingly using digital devices to record information about artefacts, and also store whatever is recorded within databases.
• Advances in information recording and storage make projects more productive:– The ability to search through multiple database instances is
limited by the fact that the projects predominately work alone and do not try to follow the prevailing standards, if available, in their project area.
• Searching through multiple databases does present significant advantages to these communities:– The additional information that can be can enhance the
understanding of finds or artefacts,– Also provide further provenance, which helps match disparate
entities together, that were not known to have a relationship before.
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• The XDB-Arch project aims to create a generic and easy to use Web-based system that can be used by various communities to search through the existing distributed databases and potentially find matches between the artefacts or finds being studied:– e.g. an archaeologist has a piece of pottery with a
particular stamp or graffiti mark on it:• From their perspective it would be useful to gather more information
about the stamp or graffiti, to help date the pottery, identify who made the it or verify where the it was produced.
– Or an historian trying to read a text might want to uncover the context of the text by treating the documents not as disembodied texts but as artefacts with an original archaeological or physical context.
• A collaboration between VERA, and Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents at the University of Oxford.
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Searching Across Multiple Archival Databases
The Search Process
CQLparser
Termmapper
DB
MetadataSchema
ResultsFormatter
QueryEngine
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9th November 2009
Searching Across Multiple Archival Databases
Prototype at http://xdb.vera.rdg.ac.uk/
3D Visualisation
• The VERA project is created the ability visualise the excavation site and view the finds and artefacts via a 3D-viewer.
• The archaeologists believe that such a capability will simplify their post excavation research and enhance their understanding of the relationship between contexts and finds.
• We have had to extrapolate and insert the “Z” coordinate into contexts in the IADB.
• We are currently also exploring the means of creating the 3D views on a PC/Laptop.
• We will export visualisation data to a CAVE and Powerwall systems located at Reading.
• 9th November 2009
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3D Visualisation
• Using the Virtual Interactive Environment Generator (VieGen).
• It is toolset for the configuration and control of Virtual Environments.
• Freely available set of tools and utilities enabling scene development by non-experts:– Also provides extensive APIs for programmers.
• Available on a range of VR hardware:– Desktops, Powerwalls, clusters, CAVEs.
• Builds on existing 3rd party libraries:– e.g. OpenSG, VTK, Xerces, OpenAL.
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VieGen
• CAVE Scene Manager:– Configurable display layout (hardware independence).
• Scene Configurator:– Textual scene description language (plain/XML),– Automatic scene generation/storage:
• Immersive VE editor, architectural plans, planogram.
• Scene Controller:– Environment management entity:
• provides object heartbeat (actions, physics, simulations) – Extensible objects:
• Geometries, models, and textures,• Internal attributes (e.g. price, mobile, and awareness).
• Extras:– Such as collaborative networking, avatars, wand mgr.
Summary and Conclusions
• The VERA project has actively investigated how archaeologists use IT in the context of a field excavation, and also for post-excavation analysis.
• The project involves archaeologists; computer scientists and researchers involved in usability studies in the digital humanities.
• The cross disciplinary team have investigated and implementing mechanisms and tools that aid archaeologists in their field work.
• This is helping them to streamline the processes they use to gather, analyse and later publish papers related to their activities.
9th November 2009
Summary and Conclusions
• To ensure that the software and tools developed within the project are appropriate for the archaeologists we are engaging all the on-site team and the researchers who undertake post excavation analysis in the usability studies: – These have so far included a diary studies and
workshops that are related to digital field recording and publications in archaeology,
– Also we have undertaken interviews with individuals and groups involved with the IADB and Silchester project,
– The users are providing significant information about not only how archaeologists work, but also feedback about how to improve the current tools and also hints about utilities that would help research in the future.
9th November 2009
Summary and Conclusions• User driven design and implementation of tools and
utilities for the project.• Availability of the Internet and WiFi at the site.• Up front and on-site training, and extensive
documentation helps the archaeologists take up the digital technologies and various tools more easily.
• Digital pens and Digimemo pads are a success, even though the latter was not that robust.
• Still cannot find a screen-based digital device that can be used easily in direct sun light.
• Recycle Bridge is an easy to use and efficient software artefact.
• XDB and 3D Visualisation are important aspects of the project too.
9th November 2009
The VERA Project Team
Project Manager and Director:
Professor Mark Baker (UoR)
Associate Directors:Professor Mike Fulford (UoR)Ms Amanda Clarke (UoR)Mr Mike Rains (YAT)Dr Claire Warwick (UCL) Dr Melissa Terras (UCL)
Research Assistants:Dr Hugo Mills (UoR)Ms Emma O’Riordan (UoR)Ms Claire Fisher (UCL)
Steering Group:Dr Stuart Dunn (King's College London)Mr Steve Gough (University of Reading)Professor Gary Lock (University of Oxford) Dr Jeremy Huggett (University of Glasgow) Professor Vince Gaffney (University of Birmingham) Professor Julian Richards (University of York) Dr Robert Allan (Daresbury Laboratory) Mr Edmund Lee (English Heritage) Mr Chris Brayne (Wessex Archaeology)
The VERA project has a core team of researchers based at the University of Reading (UoR), University College London (UCL), and York Archaeological Trust (YAT). To advise the project, VERA has a Steering Group made up of experts in the field of Archaeology, Virtual Research Environments, and the user community.
http://vera.reading.ac.uk9th November 2009
