Within the archaeological record ‘mounds’ are often ubiquitous. They are
common in many ancient cultures, and they vary in size, construction
techniques and use. This research is focused upon optimizing the use of remote
sensing for the non-invasive study of mounds both in the United States and the
United Kingdom.
This thesis presents three representative earthen mound sites and proposes a
comprehensive and modular survey methodology to guide the planning and
execution of a mound survey tailored to the unique requirements presented by
the cultural resource at a particular location. In doing so, the research has
provided optimized approaches to high resolution three-dimensional
topographic models using a variety of digital methods. These models have been
shown to accurately capture the variability of the modern ground surface, which
is of vital importance to the management of the mounds. Furthermore, these
models have proved vital for integrating geophysical methods into the holistic
workspace, thereby providing a better archaeological understanding of the
below ground remains.
Every mound surveyed presented different challenges, and therefore had to be
approached in a slightly different way. However, the general methodology was
highly effective for both characterizing below-ground archaeological and natural
anomalies, and for assessing the state of preservation of all mounds surveyed.
As a result, a flowchart has been generated for non-invasive assessment of mounds in general. If followed, this will allow the production of a “snapshot” of
the mound or mound group at a fixed point in time with the resolution necessary
to produce useful and insightful interpretation.
While this research focuses on the application of geophysical and topographic
survey in the United Kingdom and United States to a mound or mound group,
this methodology and the associated outcomes can be valuable more globally
not only for archaeology, but also heritage management.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/19279 |
| Date | January 2019 |
| Creators | Corkum II, Alexander C. |
| Contributors | Gaffney, Christopher F., Batt, Catherine M. |
| Publisher | University of Bradford, Faculty of Life Sciences. School of Archaeological and Forensic Sciences |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, doctoral, PhD |
| Rights | <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. |
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