Wessex grasp the nettle of non-Digital Photographic sustainability

[Marc Berger]

Will they accept Jpeg pictures of the context sheets and plans as the archive?

[Callippides]

They (RCAHMS) accept all normal paper archive material (primary site records, maps, reports, sketches, artefact drawings etc) but if something has been originated digitally then there's no need to duplicate it in the archive by printing it out on paper, it would just form part of the digital data submitted (eg inked up site drawings done in Autocad, just submit the dwg files, not paper print outs). It's very sensible and allows flexibility in how different parts of an archive are produced and then deposited.

[Marc Berger]

so apart from the find archive- RCAHMS will accept a fully digital record? Have they set any standards and formats?

[BAJR]

yep

get in touch and they will give you the details. Not so bad.

[Marc Berger]

Could I record the whole site just with a digital video camera?

[BAJR]

get in touch and they will give you the details. though I would love to see the result. :face-approve:

http://www.rcahms.gov.uk/rcahms_media/fi...sitors.pdf

http://www.rcahms.gov.uk/rcahms_media/fi...ch2009.pdf

[Marc Berger]

they don't seem to have heard of video.

Initial scan of the documents suggests that they don't like apple which gets them top marks in my book but they don't reference any reasons for their standard settings. Cant help getting the feeling that the table at the end was produced by somebody who knew that they were on a hiding to nothing and the rest was written by a management who haven't got much of a maths background.
"images must be 1200 pixels along longest edge and images must have a resolution of 720dpi" well we are now in HD and what does it all add up to if you take two frames of video on section-does that equate to double the resolution when added together.

So if you live in Scotland grab yourself an HD video and start digging, you do not need any context / graphic sheets, indexes, K1000s, something called film, 6h pencils, permatrace,...luckily for hosty you will still need a lot of the hardware for digging (although will you need a level?) . Obviously when independence comes you will need a graduate qualification in archaeology from a certified university to use the video in the presence of any excavating archaeology.