HELSINKI SYMPOSIUM ON AERIAL ARCHAEOLOGY 2004

Helsinki, Finland

About the symposium

PROGRAMME FOR THE SEMINAR, 4-5 OCTOBER 2004

REGISTRATION FORM

The seminar will be held at The National Museum of Finland, auditorium, Mannerheimintie 34. There will be four sessions each day, mostly of 90 minutes, with 30-minute breaks mid-morning and mid-afternoon, plus a lunch-break of 60-90 minutes. On the first evening there will be a special talk by Dr Otto Braasch, followed by conference dinner).

The ‘visiting' team of speakers will consist of Bob Bewley, Dave Cowley, Toby Driver, Pete Horne, Dave MacLeod, Chris Musson, Rog Palmer (UK); Otto Braasch, Irwin Scollar (Germany); Michael Doneus (Austria), Darja Grosman (Slovenia).

MONDAY 4 OCTOBER

9.00 INTRODUCTION

• Domestic announcements by organisers (meals, travel etc)
• Welcome by Mika Lavento (Helsinki University)
• Response by Bob Bewley (English Heritage and AARG)
  ‘From photography to landscape interpretation'.

9.20-10.30 SESSION 1 Setting the scene: principles, problems and opportunities

• Purpose and format of the symposium ; the uses and limitations of archaeological air survey Chris Musson (15 minutes)
• The Ars Baltica Project: prospects for co-operation (15 minutes)
  Introduction by Wlodek Raczkowski. Further discussion in Session 8.
• Geology, soils, climate, land-use, archaeology (40 minutes)
  Five-minute summaries of local conditions by participants from each country:
  * the size of your country *the climate *the basic geology and soils/land-use
  (arable cultivation, pasture, woodland etc) *the nature of the archaeology (as it may affect what is visible from the air *the present use (or not) of aerial studies *the archaeological structure (resources, bodies , legal framework)

Short break, 30 minutes

11.00-12.30 SESSION 2 Flights into the past: heritage survey from light aircraft

• What can be seen from the air? And how does it show? Pete Horne
  Basic discussion of soilmarks, cropmarks, low light etc and the kind ofthings that the aerial viewpoint can reveal.
• Free-ranging air survey in practice Dave MacLoed/Toby Driver
  Basic practicalities – aircraft, pilots, cameras, flight recording, post-flight procedures and archiving; planning a survey programme.
• Discussion of morning Sessions

Lunch break (12.30-13.30)

13.30-15.00 SESSION 3 Vertical air photos, satellite and other digital methods, photomaps

Short contributions (max 15 minutes) on other sources of ‘aerial´ information, including availability, uses and costs.

• Photo archives: diversity, accessibility, specialisation Darja Grosman
• Vertical air photos and what they may show Rog Palmer
• Satellite and airborne digital imagery Rog Palmer, Pete Horne
• German WWII photo-maps Wlodek Raczkowski
• A web bases GUI for viewing and analysing high volumes of digital
  imagery and GIS data Juha Saarentaus, Centroid
• Discussion after each contribution and/or at end of session

Short Break, 30 minutes

15.30-17.00 SESSION 4 Purposes and practicalities of air-photo mapping

• Why make maps, and how to go about it Rog Palmer
  Purposes, pre-requisites and present-day methods.
• Sites, complexes and landscapes Pete Horne
  Mapping for different purposes, and text-records for local and national use.
• Aerial survey and cultural resource management Bob Bewley
• Discussion of afternoon sessions

Short interval

17.30- SPECIAL TALK: ‘Ice, wind and water: flights across Europe' Otto Braasch

• Frost, ice, snow, erosion, drought and ‘under-water' photography.

TUESDAY 5 OCTOBER

9.00-10.30 SESSION 5 Using aerial survey: some examples

Four 15-minute talks illustrating particular aspects or uses

• Dave Cowley on the Defence Estates Project
• Toby Driver on monument monitoring and pre-survey flying
• Dave MacLoed on urban and industrial recording
• Bob Bewley on landscape characterisation.
• Discussion

Short Break, 30 minutes

11.00-12.30 SESSION 6 Using aerial survey: further examples

Another three talks focusing on interpretation/investigation/integration

• Pete Horne on ‘national' mapping projects
• Darja Grosman on work in ‘unhelpful' contexts
• Michael Doneus on integrating aerial evidence, geophysics, excavation and fieldwork
• Discussion on morning sessions

Lunch break (12.30-13.30)

13.30-15.00 SESSION 7 Aerial work in the Baltic and Nordic States

• Six(?) short talks (15 min+ 5 min discussion) on work done, problems faced and lessons learned in participating countries
  (Lis Helles Olesen, Oscar Aldred, Wlodek Rączkowski, Henrik Haggrén, Kjell
  Edvinger, Romas Jarockis, Juris Urtans (or similar list of contributors)

Short break, 30 minutes

15.30-17.00 SESSION 8 Looking to the future: reflections and aspirations

Short contributions by several speakers and participants:

• The importance of ready access to air photographs and information derived from the: GIS methods, web-access etc.
• Reflections: : limitations, aspirations and opportunities Chris Musson
  How will each country find its own kind of ‘aerial archaeology'? What kind of survey and mapping programmes can be envisaged? Are there opportunities through Ars Baltica and the Culture 2000 projects? Discussion after short introduction by Chris Musson and Wlodek Raczkowsi. Comments by national representatives, and hopes for the future.
• Closing remarks by Finnish organisers

CHRIS MUSSON, 22 August 2004 HELSINKI/SEMINAR PROGRAMME(6) Modified to web-version by Katri Koistinen 24 September 2004

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