Visualizing Legacy Stratigraphic Data From Archaeological Handbooks

In 2001, Harris strongly emphasized the need for Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to force archaeologists to acknowledge the pre-eminent position of surfaces, rather than deposits in stratigraphic analysis and recording. This is certainly a problem since stratigraphic data is often recorded in a haphazard and incomplete fashion such that it disallows the accurate and convincing representation of the original stratigraphic surfaces. This publication looks at the reconstructions possible from current stratigraphic data by recreating in 3D an excavation unit showing the resulting accuracy, and the suitability for the later automatic creation of plan maps. This paper describes the ongoing development of a secondary knowledge creation tool for archaeology, capable of the entry, reconstruction and visualization of stratigraphic layers in three dimensions based on the varying and sometimes incomplete records of the field-archaeologist.