Geoarchaeology and Geodiversity Services

Variations in the rate, intensity and type of geological processes that operate on any landscape over time can have significant implications for understanding the distribution and preservation potential of archaeological remains.  Sites can be removed through natural processes of erosion or buried by sedimentation beneath later deposits, rendering them invisible to conventional methods of archaeological prospection.  Some sites have also been submerged beneath our seas and oceans as a result of sea level change.

By taking a geoarchaeological approach to heritage management, many of these challenges can be overcome and it is possible to unravel landscape evolution to provide an understanding of the preserved pattern of archaeological remains, which in turn provides a template for geoprospection.

My experience and services are focused around a number of key areas:

• Analysis, mapping and interpretation of archaeological landscapes using airborne remote sensing (satellite imagery, air photography and Lidar).

• Analysis, mapping and interpretation of archaeological landscapes using terrestrial remote sensing (ground penetrating radar, electrical resistivity ground imaging).

• Development of strategies for radiometric dating, sampling and analysis of results.

• Development of strategies for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction, sampling and analysis of results.

• Development of strategies for geoprospection and the predictive modelling of archaeological sites.

• Assessment of geodiversity in advance of major infrastructure projects.