Author Archives: chelseacolwellpasch

Photo Journal of Project SAMPHIRE: The First Five Days – Oban to Rasaay

By: Chelsea Colwell-Pasch

Project SAMPHIRE is now in full swing as the team island hops along Scotland’s Western coast and islands aboard DVS Kylebhan (Figure 1). The team travelled from Oban, mainland Scotland, to the Isle of Rasaay in the first five days, conducting archaeological surveys both above and below the water and spanning Mesolithic sites to nineteenth Century shipwrecks.

Figure 1. DVS Kylebhan is a 20 metre (67 feet) trawler converted to a dive charter boat. It can accommodate 12 passengers and is very comfortable for the SAMPHIRE team of six plus the two crew (Photo by: Chelsea Colwell-Pasch)

Figure 1. DVS Kylebhan is a 20 metre (67 feet) trawler converted to a dive charter boat. It can accommodate 12 passengers and is very comfortable for the SAMPHIRE team of six plus the two crew (Photo by: Chelsea Colwell-Pasch)

This year’s Project SAMPHIRE has six potential archaeological sites slated for investigation, however other sites were and are still being located during the course of the field work and added to the Project’s mandate. This blog is a photo journal of the first five days of Project SAMPHIRE’s journey and archaeological investigations.

Day One: Oban to Tobermory (Isle of Mull)

Figure 2. The steam Northwest to Tobermory, Isle of Mull from Oban on mainland Scotland.

Figure 2. The steam Northwest to Tobermory, Isle of Mull from Oban on mainland Scotland.

Figure 3. Prof. Kurt Lambeck (Australian National University, Canberra) presenting his lecture on glacial rebound in Scotland at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) (Photo by: Chelsea Colwell-Pasch).

Figure 3. Prof. Kurt Lambeck (Australian National University, Canberra) presenting his lecture on glacial rebound in Scotland at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) (Photo by: Chelsea Colwell-Pasch).

Figure 4. A ‘surprise’ unknown wreck at Tobermory, Isle of Mull, and our docking area for our first night (Photo by: Chelsea Colwell-Pasch). Figure 4. A ‘surprise’ unknown wreck at Tobermory, Isle of Mull, and our docking area for our first night (Photo by: Chelsea Colwell-Pasch).

Day Two: Tobermory (Isle of Mull) to Isle of Eigg, then to Canna

Figure 5. Our travels by sea to Eigg then Canna.

Figure 5. Our travels by sea to Eigg then Canna.

Figure 6. Prof. Karen Hardy from ICREA, Barcelona (far right) showing SAMPHIRE team members Bob MackIntosh (far left), Drew Roberts (middle-left), Chelsea Colwell-Pasch (middle-right) lithics found on her coastal survey of Eigg (Photo by: Jonathan Benjamin).

Figure 6. Prof. Karen Hardy from ICREA, Barcelona (far right) showing SAMPHIRE team members Bob MackIntosh (far left), Drew Roberts (middle-left), Chelsea Colwell-Pasch (middle-right) lithics found on her coastal survey of Eigg (Photo by: Jonathan Benjamin).

Figure 7. Galmisdale Harbour on the Isle of Eigg where the first site survey for Project SAMPHIRE was conducted (Photo by: Chelsea Colwell-Pasch).

Figure 7. Galmisdale Harbour on the Isle of Eigg where the first site survey for Project SAMPHIRE was conducted (Photo by: Chelsea Colwell-Pasch).

Day Three: Canna, Loch Bay, Dunvegan and Uig.

Figure 8. The steam North from Canna to Loch Bay, the site of the second wreck, Dunvegan the planned night dock and Uig the actual night docking area.

Figure 8. The steam North from Canna to Loch Bay, the site of the second wreck, Dunvegan the planned night dock and Uig the actual night docking area.

Figure 9. SAMPHIRE divers Drew Roberts (right) and John McCarthy (left) preparing to dive in Loch Bay on the second project site (Photo by Chelsea Colwell-Pasch).

Figure 9. SAMPHIRE divers Drew Roberts (right) and John McCarthy (left) preparing to dive in Loch Bay on the second project site (Photo by Chelsea Colwell-Pasch).

Figure 10. Chelsea Colwell-Pasch in Uig, Isle of Skye at 22:30 with daylight still visible (Photo by: Jonathan Benjamin).

Figure 10. Chelsea Colwell-Pasch in Uig, Isle of Skye at 22:30 with daylight still visible (Photo by: Jonathan Benjamin).

Day Four: Uig, Loch Bay and Portree, Isle of Skye

Figure 11. The steam from Uig back to Loch Bay, then the long steam to Portree, our port for the night.

Figure 11. The steam from Uig back to Loch Bay, then the long steam to Portree, our port for the night.

Figure 12. SAMPHIRE diver Bob MackIntosh diving in Loch Bay on the projects second site investigation (Photo by: Jonathan Benjamin).

Figure 12. SAMPHIRE diver Bob MackIntosh diving in Loch Bay on the projects second site investigation (Photo by: Jonathan Benjamin).

Figure 13. Dolphins ‘bow-riding’ our vessel Kylebhan on our way to Portree, Isle of Skye (Photo by: Jonathan Benjamin).

Figure 13. Dolphins ‘bow-riding’ our vessel Kylebhan on our way to Portree, Isle of Skye (Photo by: Jonathan Benjamin).

Figure 14. At dock in Portree, Isle of Skye after a long steam from Loch Bay (Photo by: Chelsea Colwell-Pasch).

Figure 14. At dock in Portree, Isle of Skye after a long steam from Loch Bay (Photo by: Chelsea Colwell-Pasch).

Day Five: Portree, Isle of Sky to Clachan Harbour, Isle of Raasay

Figure 15. The steam from Portree to Clachan Harbour, Isle of Raasay.

Figure 15. The steam from Portree to Clachan Harbour, Isle of Raasay.

Figure 16. Clachan Harbour on the Isle of Raasay where the SAMPHIRE team was investigating the area for submerged prehistoric sites (Photo by: Chelsea Colwell-Pasch).

Figure 16. Clachan Harbour on the Isle of Raasay where the SAMPHIRE team was investigating the area for submerged prehistoric sites (Photo by: Chelsea Colwell-Pasch).

Figure 17. Snorkel survey of Clachan Harbour, Raasay for Mesolithic occupation by SAMPHIRE volunteer Chelsea Colwell-Pasch (Photo by: Jonathan Benjamin).

Figure 17. Snorkel survey of Clachan Harbour, Raasay for Mesolithic occupation by SAMPHIRE volunteer Chelsea Colwell-Pasch (Photo by: Jonathan Benjamin).

We are not even halfway through our field work around Scotland’s Western Isles and already Project SAMPHIRE 2014 has been a huge success. Stay informed by following the Project on Twitter (#SAMPHIRE, @WAScotland, @WessexArch, @CColwellPasch) and by checking out the daily posts on the Projects Blog page: http://blogs.wessexarch.co.uk/samphire/

Maritime, Travel and Clyde-built Ships

By: Chelsea Colwell-Pasch

My name is Chelsea Colwell-Pasch and I am a post-graduate student studying maritime archaeology at Flinders University. I am in Scotland this June and July to conduct research for my thesis as well as partake in Wessex Archaeology’s Project SAMPHIRE as a volunteer research assistant. The exciting opportunity to partake in Project SAMPHIRE came about when Dr Jonathan Benjamin, formerly of Wessex Archaeology and current Co-investigator for the Project, took a lecturer position at Flinders University this past January. Dr Benjamin then became my thesis advisor and we began discussing the numerous resources and connections available in Scotland for someone in my position of studying a Clyde-built ship that wrecked in Australia (see Figure 1). The initial idea of a research trip to Scotland for thesis research then grew into a professional development prospect and an opportunity to cultivate a research and industry relationship between Flinders University and Wessex Archaeology. The international cooperation allows an excellent opportunity for professional, academic, volunteer and student involvement. Plus, maritime archaeology is an international discipline with trans-boundary elements and the obvious aspects of transport and travel throughout time.

Figure 1. Chelsea Colwell-Pasch reading an original Lloyd’s Register of Shipping at the Glasgow University Archives in Glasgow, Scotland (Photo by: Chelsea Colwell-Pasch).

Figure 1. Chelsea Colwell-Pasch reading an original Lloyd’s Register of Shipping at the Glasgow University Archives in Glasgow, Scotland (Photo by: Chelsea Colwell-Pasch).

I am halfway through my final year of study and well into my chosen thesis topic which is a multiphasic vessel biography on the wreck of Leven Lass employing the BULSI (Build, Use, Loss, Survival, and Investigation) system. The brig Leven Lass was built in Dumbarton, Scotland, by Denny & Rankine at Denny’s Shipyard number two, in 1839 (The Clyde Built Ships 2014). A brig was a two-masted sailing ship with square rigging on both masts and was commonly used as couriers on coastal routes (Encyclopaedia Britannica Online 2014). Leven Lass had routes between Limerick and Glasgow and then between North America (Canada and West Indies) and Glasgow. It was then sold on 16 September 1852, by Paton and Grant, and sailed from Scotland to Melbourne, Australia on 1 October 1852 by Captain Sholto Gardener Jamieson (1818-1882), arriving in 1853 (Glasgow Herald 17 September 1852:8; Lythgoe 2014; Wilson 2012). It spent the majority of its time in Southeast Australia as a post carrier between Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney and was considered “a remarkably fast sailer”, see Figure 2 (Glasgow Herald 17 September 1852:8).

Figure 2. A Glasgow Herald newspaper article from 1852 calling for cargo applications for Leven Lass’ voyage to Melbourne (Glasgow Herald 17 September 1852:8).

Figure 2. A Glasgow Herald newspaper article from 1852 calling for cargo applications for Leven Lass’ voyage to Melbourne (Glasgow Herald 17 September 1852:8).

As a consequence of my research, I wanted to understand how they deemed Leven Lass to be ‘remarkably fast’. The way they calculated the speed of a vessel was with the ‘measured mile’, which was a nautical mile marked by two pairs of markers. A nautical mile is 6080 feet/1.852 km in length, as opposed to the land based statute mile which is 5280 feet/1.609 km in length (White 2003). A ship would work up to full speed on a steady course, the markers would be in transit (in line with each other) and the time noted then noted again when the next set of markers lined up (White 2003). Usually the average was taken between two runs to allow for wind and tide changes (White 2003). Near Dumbarton where Leven Lass was launched, there is a run that is actually two consecutive miles with three sets of markers (see Figure 3). Ships speed was given in knots, not knots per hour as a knot is one nautical mile per hour (White 2003). This is but one facet of the research I have conducted while in Scotland. My trip has taught me the importance of primary research and how much can be gained by travelling abroad for my research. This trip has been more than useful and the result is a much more in-depth study, without which my thesis would have been limited, or even superficial.

Figure 3. The three sets of measured mile markers on the Isle of Aaran to the SW of Dumbarton (RCAHMS 2014).

Figure 3. The three sets of measured mile markers on the Isle of Aaran to the SW of Dumbarton (RCAHMS 2014).

Leven Lass was chosen as my thesis topic after the 2014 Flinders University Maritime Archaeology Field School conducted at Phillip Island, Victoria this past January (see Figure 4). The field school was centred on a wreck that was determined to be Leven Lass by a previous Flinders masters student who worked on the wreck during the 2012 Maritime Archaeology Field School (Wilson 2012). While the focus of that thesis was more on maritime cultural landscapes and shipwreck identification, my thesis is looking at the vessel’s life cycle or career, from design inception to archaeological investigation, and its broader implications for shipwreck studies, Scottish maritime diaspora and nineteenth century post-colonial Australian seafaring.

Figure 4. A Flinders University Maritime Archaeology Student, records the Clyde-built Leven Lass during the 2014 field school on Phillip Island, Victoria. Another field school is scheduled for February 2015 (Photo by: J. Benjamin).

Figure 4. A Flinders University Maritime Archaeology Student, records the Clyde-built Leven Lass during the 2014 field school on Phillip Island, Victoria. Another field school is scheduled for February 2015 (Photo by: J. Benjamin).

I have only been in Scotland a little over a week, though I have already visited the Glasgow University Archives, RCAHMS, Historic Scotland, the Mitchell Library, University of Edinburgh Library, and the Scottish Maritime Museum (Irvine) and met with various industry professionals. While these investigative avenues have been fruitful, any and all information that may be of value to my thesis research from the public would be appreciated and welcomed. Any information about Denny & Rankine shipbuilders would be especially valuable as there is little data available about them in the archives. I look forward to the rest of my Scotland adventure and to the valuable experiences to be gained with both Wessex Archaeology and with the communities around Scotland.

The SAMPHIRE team and I will be blogging and tweeting (as signal permits!) and we will keep progress reports as up-to-date as possible via the project blog. Please follow this year’s fieldwork (#SAMPHIRE) with Dr  Jonathan Benjamin (@jon_benj), Wessex Archaeology (@wessexarch), and me, Chelsea Colwell-Pasch (@CColwellPasch).

The project blog link: http://blogs.wessexarch.co.uk/samphire/

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References

Encyclopaedia Britannica Online 2014 “Brig”. Retrieved 3 June 2014 from: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/79477/brig.

Glasgow Herald 1852 “At Glasgow – For Melbourne, Port-Phillip”. 17 September: 8.

Lythgoe, Darrin 2014 Shetland Family History. Retrieved 23 May 2014 from: http://www.bayanne.info/Shetland/getperson.php?personID=I11228&tree=ID1.

RCAHMS 2014 Canmore: Isle of Aaran Measured Mile Markers. Retrieved 3 July 2014 from: http://canmoremapping.rcahms.gov.uk/index.php?action=do_advanced&list_z=0&sitename=&classterm1=MEASURED+MILE+MARKER+&sitediscipline=&idnumlink=&mapno=&site=&councilcode=&parish=®ioncode=&districtcode=&countycode=&ngr=&radiusm=0&collectionname=&bibliosurname=&biblioinits=&bibliotitle=&bibliodate=&bibliojournal=&submit=search.

The Clyde Built Ships 2014 Leven Lass. Electronic document. Retrieved 23 May 2014 from: http://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?ref=14432.

Wilson, Dennis D. 2012 The Investigation of Unidentified Wreck 784, Phillip Island, Victoria: Applying Cultural Landscape Theory and Hierarchy of Time to the Assessment of Shipwreck Significance. Unpublished Masters thesis, DEPT Flinders University, Adelaide.

White, Tony 2003 Polperro Cornish gem: Nautical Measured Mile Markers. Retrieved 3 July 2014 from: http://www.polperro.org/measuredmile.html.

The Multiple Benefits of a Directed Study in Maritime Archaeology

By: Chelsea Colwell-Pasch

I have now completed my semester long directed study topic at Flinders University, with only the final draft of my field work report for the industry partner involved, Heritage Victoria, remaining. It is the perfect time to reflect upon the semester and the benefits of partaking in a directed study topic. For the purposes of my research it was in maritime archaeology, but I imagine that any directed study would carry the same benefits and this blog could be taken synonymously.

This has been a hard topic. I know that this blog, the last in my required blog posts for this topic, is supposed to be about the benefits of a directed study but I feel that it would be amiss if I didn’t let you, the reader, know that it was a very taxing endeavour. You spend a lot of time thinking about it, working on it, doubting yourself, having the pressure of a professional or industry partner being involved, and the scariest of all, relying on yourself to do what needs to be done. I do not want people to get the wrong idea: it was hard, yes, but in the best possible ways. 

Even now as I write this I am thinking about the quality of my writing and whether or not I will meet the standards required for a professional maritime archaeology field work report. I have read through multiple field reports by various government and commercial maritime archaeology firms and have created what can only be described as a ‘Frankenstein-esque’ version of a report, with the pieces I could use cut and sewn together, because no field report is alike. Sections included in one may not be relevant in another and vice versa. The end product is very specific and a very large report covering every possible aspect that I or others could conceive. This has been a great exercise in understanding what maritime archaeologists actually do as a job. By understanding at least one end product of their work, I can better understand how to conduct myself in the field to make the task of report writing easier.

Another beneficial outcome of this project is acknowledging your personal work ethic and drive. I am not being paid to write this report, on the contrary I am paying a substantial international post-graduate course fee to write it. That being said, I treated it as a job, as if it was my duty to write this report to the highest standard and not let my industry partner or professors down. Pressure to succeed is a good stressor (to a certain degree), and it will be a part of any career you choose so to understand how you handle it in a safe, academic environment is very nice.

For this entire semester, I was the ‘captain’ of my professional report writing ‘voyage’. I ‘steered’ the way the report was going by choosing what to include and how to include it. The best part of being enrolled in a course is that my ‘safety beacon’ if you will (apologies for the nautical puns…occupational hazard) was the very knowledgeable university staff who were there to answer any and all questions and guide me to ‘safe harbour’ when rough water was met (I will stop with the puns now, I promise). This is a luxury that is not afforded in the real world.

I will end my last directed studies blog with the best part of enrolling in this topic: experience. I will, once everything is completed, have a professional report under my belt. I will not be intimidated by report writing once I am in the professional realm. I can show future employers, colleagues and, most importantly, myself that I CAN do this. The only real issue I have about this topic is that I am not able to take part in another one.

Leven Lass: An Origin Story

By: Chelsea Colwell-Pasch

As I near the end of my directed study in maritime archaeology, I wanted to take the time to discuss one of the main facets of my final report: Leven Lass. I have had the opportunity thoroughly to research the background of Leven Lass, not only for my directed study, but also as part of my masters thesis. For my thesis, I am producing a multiphasic vessel biography on Leven Lass utilising Wessex Archaeology’s BULSI (Build, Use, Loss, Survival, and Investigation) system. I plan on evaluating the system for its utility in shipwreck studies and place Leven Lass in a broader context of nineteenth century seafaring in Australia.

Leven Lass was chosen as my thesis topic after the 2014 Maritime Archaeology Field School conducted at Phillip Island, Victoria this past January. The field school was centred on a wreck that was determined to be Leven Lass by a previous Flinders masters student who worked on the wreck during the 2012 Maritime Archaeology Field School (Wilson 2012). While the focus of that thesis was more on maritime cultural landscapes, my thesis is looking at the vessel’s life cycle or career, from design inception to shipwreck investigation, and its broader implications for shipwreck studies, significance assessments and post-colonial Australian seafaring.

Leven Lass was built in Dumbarton, Scotland, at Denny’s Shipyard (see Figure 1 below), yard number two, in 1839 (The Clyde Built Ships 2014). Leven Lass was sold in Glasgow, Scotland, on 16 September 1852 by Paton and Grant and sailed from Scotland to Australia (Melbourne) on 1 October 1852 by Captain Sholto Gardener Jamieson (1818-1882), arriving in 1853 (Glasgow Herald 17 September 1852:8; Lythgoe 2014; Wilson 2012). The brig Leven Lass spent time as a post carrier between Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney and was considered “a remarkably fast sailer” (Glasgow Herald 17 September 1852:8). A brig was a two-masted sailing ship with square rigging on both masts and was commonly used as couriers on coastal routes (Encyclopaedia Britannica Online 2014). 

Image

 

Figure 1. A model rendition of Denny’s shipyard in 1908 at Dumbarton, Scotland (Royal Museums Greenwich 2014).

Leven Lass is going to be thoroughly researched by the end of 2014 to say the least. The field report being constructed for Heritage Victoria during this directed study is not going to be as detailed as my proposed thesis but more of a synopsis of field work conducted and a discussion of the results and interpretation of the data collected during both the 2012 and 2014 field schools.

References

Encyclopaedia Britannica Online 2014 “Brig”. Retrieved 3 June 2014 from: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/79477/brig.

Glasgow Herald 1852 “At Glasgow – For Melbourne, Port-Phillip”. 17 September: 8.

Lythgoe, Darrin 2014 Shetland Family History. Retrieved 23 May 2014 from: http://www.bayanne.info/Shetland/getperson.php? personID=I11228&tree=ID1.

Royal Museums Greenwich 2014 Denny’s Shipyard. Retrieved 23 May 2014 from: http://prints.rmg.co.uk/art/510730/Topographic_model_Dennys_shipyard_Dumbarton.

The Clyde Built Ships 2014 Leven Lass. Electronic document. Retrieved 23 May 2014 from: http://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?ref=14432,

Wilson, Dennis D. 2012 The Investigation of Unidentified Wreck 784, Phillip Island, Victoria: Applying Cultural Landscape Theory and Hierarchy of Time to the Assessment of Shipwreck Significance. Unpublished Masters thesis, DEPT Flinders University, Adelaide.

 

 

The Danger with Data: Common Pitfalls in Archaeological Data Collation

In the second blog instalment for my directed studies topic in maritime archaeology, I have decided to focus on data collation and the issues that I have personally experienced or could foresee for those conducting similar projects. The end result of my directed studies will be a professional field report from two field seasons of maritime archaeological work on Phillip Island, Victoria that will be used by my industry partner, Heritage Victoria. The idea for this blog topic arose out my many frustrations from trying to collate and make ‘usable’ the raw data collected over the course of two field schools over a three year period, 2012 to 2014. I was only involved in the 2014 field work as a supervisor, making that aspect of the data collation a little easier, the hard part is trying to make sense of the work from others during a field school I was not a part of. I imagine that this is a common problem amongst archaeologists; trying to piece together the relevant data collected by others, sometimes years prior. This exercise has not only made it possible for me to identify the common pitfalls for those who find themselves wading through the collective data of other researchers, but also how best to go about collecting and organising data in general in case it is to be used in the future by others.

The Round-Up

Wouldn’t it be great to show up to the archaeology lab and have every single bit of data from your field project sitting on a glowing silver platter as cherubs sprinkle flower petals down upon you while a harp plays in the background…? It is fun to dream, but here in ‘reality’ you have to find this information on your own. You may have a great professor who gives you a large bag of what at first appears to be waste bin material, but which later turns out to be the data recorded from the last field school. I was lucky to have most of the data given to me, although not all of it. I could foresee issues with having to track down people to retrieve field notes or photographs or pieces of information that ‘you know they know’ but that they never recorded. It would be wise to think about what data you have at the beginning, what might be missing, and then revisit it all just before completion to ensure all of the important ‘stuff’ is actually accounted for.

It takes longer than you think:

When I was first given the task to digitise all of the field reporting, drawings, maps, forms and log books from the two field schools I was not under the impression that it was a large task. I thought that I would be able to, in my own words, “knock this out in an afternoon”. I look back now and laugh at my naivety. It took four full days to digitise all of the logbooks and associated paperwork. That was just the physical act of scanning the pieces (my apologies for commandeering the scanner for four days to anyone I inconvenienced). I then had to organise the PDFs into easy to use files on a USB drive for archival purposes, creating a small database of keywords/file names. Once that was complete, I then did it all over again due to a series of unfortunate events (see next section). The point to be made here is to be realistic about how long the ‘housekeeping’ portion of data collation will actually take.

 Back it up, then back it up again:

Probably the largest and most dramatic problem that arose was when I fell asleep while typing in bed. I then proceeded to inadvertently kick my laptop off the bed and destroyed the hard drive, losing, not only my digitised copies of logbooks, drawings and maps that took me four solid days to scan, but also everything I have written in the report (along with my thesis work as well…but that’s a whole different can of worms). Needless to say, a well thought out back up system could have saved me a lot of time (and stress!). Then to make matters worse, my USB drive holding the only copies of some of my written work was stolen while I was at the university library using their computers while mine was getting fixed. The old adage “those who do not learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them” is completely at play in this scenario. I now have two USB drives, an internet based file storage system (Dropbox), and an external hard drive that is ONLY for backing up my system. It may also help to print off some hard copies of any major written sections just in case; a hard copy of my thesis work was a sight for sore eyes during what I call the “dark period” of this current semester.

Figure 1. The ‘Back Up Arsenal’. Photo by Chelsea Colwell-Pasch

Handwriting and Size Formats…Sigh

Another frustrating aspect of data collation is the little things that may not seem like a big deal to those who don’t have to deal with them, such as deciphering hand writing, scribbled drawings and trying to scan the ‘un-scannable’! When it comes to hand writing, unfortunately, unless you know the person and can track them down to translate, it usually comes down to best guess. Legibility is an absolute must when it comes to recording and if you take nothing else from this blog please remember to write as clearly and concisely as possible. The data is useless unless you can use it and researchers like me will thank you for it. The same goes for drawings, try to be clear and please, please, please put in a scale! As for size formats, this one is tricky. The only real issue is in trying to digitise the ‘wonky’ sized medium. It is impossible to get a great scan of a site plan that was drawn on an arbitrarily sized piece of hand cut mylar (plastic paper for underwater recording) that is too large for the scanners copying surface. Scanners are machines and machines can’t cope with anything they are not preprogramed for.

Make it your own

In this final section, I offer not an issue but a tip. When you collate the data, do it in a way that makes sense. Organise the files on your computer (and on your USB, external hard drive, and Dropbox) and compile data into easy to use and understand spreadsheets, graphs and diagrams. Look at every piece of data and think about how you would USE it and then present it in the best possible manner to fulfil its use. But beware! Too often archaeologists present data as end results, forgoing the analysis and interpretation processes. Data is only the means by which you make your interpretations and conclusions, they are not an end in themselves but a means to one.