The Division of ArchaeoSciences – the Research Institute of the University of Bucharest (ICUB) is pleased to announce the 16th ArchaeoSciences Seminar.
These seminars are an original initiative of our division that has the goal of providing a setting for professionals in the Archaeological Sciences field from different parts of the world, to share knowledge, and transmit meaningful information about the latest issues regarding the current methods and approaches used to study the past. It is also a chance for Romanian students to learn more about the various interdisciplinary aspects of archaeology.
This seminar will take place on 25 March 2021, online, and our guest speaker is Dr. Rog Palmer from Air Photo Services, Cambridge (UK).
He will give an online presentation entitled “Uses of aerial images in developer-led archaeology”.
Rog Palmer began working with aerial photographs for the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments of England in 1968. This was followed by undergraduate and post-graduate study at Cambridge University, and then a broken series of short term jobs, all of which used aerial photographs. In 1990 he established the freelance company, Air Photo Services, with Chris Cox who continues as its director since Rog’s retirement about 5 years ago. Publications include a survey of the area around the hillfort of Danebury, parts of the Fenland Survey reports, a handful of papers, and even a chapter in a book that was translated into Romanian. Also, Rog Palmer is a committee member of the Aerial Archaeology Research Group and have been editor of its newsletter since it began in 1990.
His lecture will explore an exciting topic about the use of aerial images in archaeological investigations, and what information it can provide for a better research.
Since 1990 it has been a legal requirement in Britain for a developer to enable and finance archaeological work in advance of their development of a site. This law led to the growth of commercial archaeology in that country and now employs about 5000 archaeologists.
Commercial archaeology in Britain has not only helped developers but has led to a great increase in archaeological knowledge by making us look where we would not necessarily choose to look if we were led by research questions. Rog Palmer’s part in this has been in the interpretation and mapping of aerial images at an early stage of work to guide and inform further archaeological investigations that may include geophysical survey, field walking and excavation.
The current talk will explain how those maps were made and what information they could include to guide other archaeological work. Finally, Rog Palmer will asking if similar processes could benefit archaeology in Romania and, if so, what training and resources are needed.
Due to the special measures imposed by COVID-19 pandemic, the lecture will be online, on 25/03/2021, starting at 12:00 am (EET), via Google Meet Platform:
meet.google.com/rfq-uwpe-dhd
We look forward to exciting discussions!
ArchaeoScience#RO Team
