A new methodology for accurate digital planning of archaeological sites without the aid of surveying equipment

However, numerous projects, both academic and commerical, are unable to utilise surveying equipment due to environmental or political difficulties or cost. Yet the addition of a simple right angled frame can provide both the scale and planar projection planes necessary to produce a detailed and correctly orientated (non-georeferenced) orthophotograph, which can be turned into a highly accurate digitised plan. The benefits of this method are pronounced. Not only does a photogrammetric orthophoto allow the creation of a plan that is more accurate (under 1 cm) than those recorded in the field using traditional analogue planning methods, but the time required to produce such a plan is significantly reduced. This in turn reduces the cost of recording in the field. This method provides a simplified yet highly accurate recording technique that bridges the old and new worlds of archaeological methodology.