European archaeologists in the last two decades have worked to integrate a wide range of emerging digital tools to enhance the recording, analysis, and dissemination of archaeological data.
These techniques have expanded and altered the data collected by archaeologists as well as their interpretations. At the same time archaeologists have expanded the capabilities of using these data on a large scale, across platforms, regions, and time periods, utilising new and existing digital research infrastructures to enhance the scale of data used for archaeological interpretations.
This Element discusses some of the most recent, innovative uses of these techniques in European archaeology at different stages of archaeological work. In addition to providing an overview of some of these techniques, it critically assesses these approaches and outlines the recent challenges to the discipline posed by self-reflexive use of these tools and advocacy for their open use in cultural heritage preservation and public engagement.
Among these techniques used frequently in various archaeological contexts across Europe, aerial photogrammetry, utilising photographs taken by UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) has been used to document larger landscapes and close-range photogrammetry is becoming a ubiquitous recording tool on excavations and for historic architectural recording. The low financial entry point to photogrammetry has made it an ideal technique for archaeologists, who are often working on a shoe-string budget.
Most archaeological projects are already equipped with a digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera and most of the necessary software licenses for image processing are open access or available at steeply reduced educational discounts.
