Monitoring burial mounds in the Yambol province: deploying mobile technology to improve cultural heritage protection

TY - GEN

T1 - Monitoring burial mounds in the Yambol province

T2 - 3rd CAA-GR Conference

AU - Valchev, Todor

AU - Sobotkova, Adéla

N1 - Conference code: 3

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - During the last 10 years, Regional Historical Museum staff with colleagues participating in the Tundzha Regional Archaeological Project (TRAP) visited over 700 burial mounds in the Yambol province. Using mobile,GIS applications such as ArcPAD and FAIMS, they collected GPS points, photos, and described the condition ofeach mound. In the last season, FAIMS was used to produce digitally-born, spatially-enhanced dataset that integrated structured data with multimedia. Resulting datasets are stored in the national archaeological siteregister, known as the Archaeological Map of Bulgaria (AMB). AMB is accessible online by national and local institutions.Burial mounds are earthen features ranging from 0.5 to 5 m in height and up to 50 m diameter. They were built from the Early Bronze Age to the beginning of Late Antique period in connection with mortuary practices. Their conspicuous size and wealthy contents have made them a target for treasure-hunting. During the recent years more trials have resulted in treasure hunters charged for destroying monuments of culture. Precise coordinates of affected archaeological sites now form evidence during court trials.The ability to systematically collect structured data and multimedia in remote areas, to record location precisely,and integrate information from multiple simultaneously running teams is crucial for effective cultural heritage management and successful protection of archaeological sites

AB - During the last 10 years, Regional Historical Museum staff with colleagues participating in the Tundzha Regional Archaeological Project (TRAP) visited over 700 burial mounds in the Yambol province. Using mobile,GIS applications such as ArcPAD and FAIMS, they collected GPS points, photos, and described the condition ofeach mound. In the last season, FAIMS was used to produce digitally-born, spatially-enhanced dataset that integrated structured data with multimedia. Resulting datasets are stored in the national archaeological siteregister, known as the Archaeological Map of Bulgaria (AMB). AMB is accessible online by national and local institutions.Burial mounds are earthen features ranging from 0.5 to 5 m in height and up to 50 m diameter. They were built from the Early Bronze Age to the beginning of Late Antique period in connection with mortuary practices. Their conspicuous size and wealthy contents have made them a target for treasure-hunting. During the recent years more trials have resulted in treasure hunters charged for destroying monuments of culture. Precise coordinates of affected archaeological sites now form evidence during court trials.The ability to systematically collect structured data and multimedia in remote areas, to record location precisely,and integrate information from multiple simultaneously running teams is crucial for effective cultural heritage management and successful protection of archaeological sites

KW - buial mounds

KW - FAIMS

KW - field recording

M3 - Article in proceedings

SP - 19

EP - 23

BT - Spreading Excellence in Computer Applications for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage

A2 - Kyriakidis, Phaedon

A2 - Agapiou, Athos

A2 - Lysandrou, Vasiliki

Y2 - 18 June 2018 through 20 June 2018

ER -