Geophysical Data in Archaeology: A Guide to Good Practice

This Guide to Good Practice is concerned with the variety of data that may be produced during geophysical survey projects and how to ensure that they can be preserved in digital formats for future re-use. The digital preservation of geophysical data is important. Effective digital archiving ensures that the data generated during a survey are available for reprocessing and re-interpretation in the future. The single most important consideration for long-term digital archiving is the accurate documentation of data, their collection and subsequent management procedures. This is necessary to ensure that people re-using the data understand both how they were created and why. It is not only the raw geophysical data measured with instruments in the field that are of concern; processed data and interpretative drawings are equally important, as is the written survey report.

The results from Strategies for Digital Data, a recent survey by the Archaeology Data Service of digital data in archaeology (Condron et al. 1999, 29-32), show that a wide variety of organisations are both creating and holding digital data for excavation and fieldwork projects. For this reason the Guide to Good Practice is aimed at:

* Creators of digital archives, including contracting and consultancy units, university-based research projects and national and local societies.
* Agencies and bodies commissioning archaeological fieldwork, including national heritage agencies and local authorities.
* Curators who will receive excavation and fieldwork digital archives, including museums, National Monuments Records and county or regional Sites and Monuments Records.