Module ARCH53015: Air Photographs

Department: Archaeology

ARCH53015: Air Photographs

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To equip the students with the ability to interpret aerial photographs and record key features onto map or plan formats.

Content

• Lecture/Seminar 1: Introduction: archeological air photography, its history and importance.
• Lecture/Seminar 2: The formation, visibility and survival of crop and soil marks.
• Lecture/Seminar 3: The interpretation and classification of features on archaeological air photos.
• Practical classes (3x2 hours): Instruction and practice in manual and computer methods of transcription and rectification.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of the module, students will have gained:
• a critical and discriminating appreciation of the importance of aerial photography for archaeological survey;
• a critical and discriminating understanding of current practice in the profession for the production, storage and interpretation of air photos;
• a critical and discriminating understanding of the main processes that create crop and soil marks;
• a knowledge of the principles and practice of the classification of sites known from air photographs.

• By the end of the module, students will have gained:
• the ability to transcribe information from photo map/plan, using both manual and computer techniques.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Through an intensive set of lectures, seminars and practical sessions involving library resources, set of air photographs and computer facilities.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Student seminar presentations with feedback (oral and written)

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University