Author and License

• Anna Hodgkinson

Oxford Archaeology

http://www.thehumanjourney.net

http://openarchaeology.net/project/survey-and-gis-manual

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Copyright Oxford Archaeology

Introduction

This document was produced at Oxford Archaeology North after development of new on-site survey and GIS methodologies applicable to any archaeological project.

It is meant to supply an easy-to-understand but comprehensive guide to survey and open source GIS, from setting up survey equipment to downloading and processing survey data. The manual is intended for speeding-up, or annihilating the training procedure and providing a guide to survey to field staff in case no professional surveyor is on site. An inexperienced member of field staff should, by following this manual step-by-step, be able to set up a Total Station or a GPS, conduct survey and download and process the survey data, given a certain amount of time.

Procedures are explained in great detail with screenshots and photographs where appropriate and guides to troubleshooting and examples for data maintenance are provided. The manual is written in such manner that it can easily be adjusted for individual sites' survey requirements. Chapters can be extracted easily and supplied individually.

Versions exist for use on site with a robotic Leica TCR1205 Total Station together with a remote control unit as well as without remote control. New versions have been added for survey with a Leica GX1230 (backpack) GPS and a Leica RX1250XC GPS.

Contents

Overview of the main headings within the manual:

• Protocols for setting up the (Leica) survey equipment
• Surveying (on archaeological sites)
• Downloading the survey data (using Leica GeoOffice)
• Troubleshooting during survey
• Downloading of survey data
• Protocols for inputting data into GIS (gvSIG 1.1.2 OA Digital Edition)
• Merging and updating survey data using gvSIG
• Editing shapefiles
• Adding Tables and Events Layers to the gvSIG project
• Joining tables
• Printing maps
• Georectification
• Problems encountered in gvSIG 1.1.2

Duration

Varies as this manual can be used instead of a training course or as a work of reference.

Methodology

The manual has been prepared in order to teach persons with no or very little little experience in survey and GIS the use of Leica survey equipment and the processing and maintenance of their data in gvSIG 1.1.2.

Aimed at

The manual was designed for archaeologists but can be used for anyone with an interest in GIS and survey. Previous knowledge and experience is nor required but it may be useful to understand the concept of GIS.

Prerequisites

Whilst it is useful to have at one's disposal the survey equipment listed in each version of the manual, the setting up and usage of survey equipment by different brands is very similar. Therefore, the methodologies described in this document concerning survey should be transferable as long as the user has some previous experience in survey.

Software requirements for using this manual are:

• gvSIG 1.1.2 (Windows or Linux version, although the manual was prepared using gvSIG for Windows)
• Leica GeoOffice or another manufacturer's equivalent for downloading survey data (should come with the equipment)
• OpenOffice
• GIMP or Irfanview for editing images

Results

If followed through thoroughly and step-by-step, the user, however inexperienced, should be able to set up survey equipment, conduct survey, download the data produced and process and maintain it using gvSIG, saving training time in the process.

At the same time, the manual provides a useful piece of reference for experienced surveyors and geometricians and facilitates troubleshooting.

Documentation available

Documentation can be found here.