Applications of digital technologies in archaeology

The purpose of the course is the introduction to the use of the methods and tools offered by modern technology that can be used in archaeological research. The general goal is for students to be able to use tools for recording, analyzing, processing, displaying and publishing digital data in the context of an interdisciplinary approach to the field of archaeology.

Upon completion of the course, students should be able to:

• Understand the utility of structured data and be able to present the information in a standardized format.

• To know the possibilities of digital data recording provided by modern technology.

• Describe non-destructive methods of archaeological field research.

• Analyze data and extract information using databases.

• To design and implement databases of archaeological findings.

• Understand the operational needs of an archaeological survey and the usefulness of digital tools.

• Describe the functions and capabilities of a modern total station.

• Encode geographic data and import it into visualization platforms.

• To create digital thematic maps.

• To use digital image processing tools.

• Be able to handle 3D graphics.

• To know the possibilities of aerial photography.

• To create orthophotos and digital elevation models.

• To create 3D models of archaeological finds.

The course material is divided into 13 weeks, the content of which is as follows:

1. Introduction to the course and general description of modern digital tools used in archaeology

2. Modern mapping methods

3. Orthophotos and digital terrain models

4. Geographic Information Systems

5. Modern methods of analysis of archaeological findings

6. Digital image processing

7. 3D computer graphics

8. 3D modeling

9. Digital documentation of findings

10. Databases

11. Non-destructive methods of archaeological field research

12. Case studies

13. Presentation of tasks