Digital Data in Environmental Archaeology 1: Preservation

This is a short blog post about preserving digital data, from the perspective of an environmental archaeologist. There is a follow up post about open data in environmental archaeology. All of this comes from my personal experience of creating, sharing and trying to preserve digital data.

This post was originally published on 30 September 2015. It was updated on 5 October 2015 to include links to a follow up post.

Preserving data

For many years I worked on archaeobotanical material from Irish excavations. I identified and counted seeds, and presented my results in a table at the end of a technical report. The results were usually prepared so that they could be presented as appendices in excavation reports, and they were supposed to be printed and read as hard copy reports. Even when the reports were digital, they were usually a digital version that mimicked the paper report, e.g. a pdf, with the look and the format of the printed page preserved.

(N.B. This is not the best way to preserve data! That’s because it makes it difficult for others to re-use or manipulate the results. For details about how to make environmental archaeology data open, see Digital Data in Environmental Archaeology 2.)

Over the years I have moved house and changed jobs and, in the meantime, methods of storage of digital data changed (all my backups for my work in 2002 were on floppy disc). I lost the digital versions of a few reports, and some files became corrupted. This is why paper is still the preferred preservation medium for lots of different data types.

“Born-digital data are in most danger of being lost to future generations” (O’Carroll and Webb, 2012, 8).

I started to worry about preserving my digital data. I began to adopt a preservation policy that involved the principle of LOCKSS (Lots Of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe).

Using repositories

One way to do make multiple copies of your data is to disseminate it online. But even when you upload a report or a dataset online you can’t ensure that the platform that you upload to will continue hosting your data forever. This is a problem across research institutions, and it has led to a call for the development of reliable repositories (with the resources to sustain data in the long term) and a system of Persistent Identifiers (PIDs) or handles.

The easiest way to assign a PID to your dataset is to upload it to a trusted repository. These will keep multiple copies of your data on their servers. There are a handful of trusted repositories for archaeological data, and a review of these is available on the website of the meta journal, Journal of Open Archaeology Data.

I have used both Figshare and Zenodo to upload my data (these are both trusted repositories that offer free services). The repositories assign a PID to the files, and this also means that it is easy for someone else to reference your work and acknowledge your contribution, as the repository generates a citation for the data (for example, one of my datasets that has been uploaded to Figshare is cited as: Johnston, Penny (2014). Plant remains data from Derrybane 2, Tipperary Ireland. Figshare http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1080723).

For more information on PIDs, see http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/briefing-papers/introduction-curation/persistent-identifiers

Using these services not only provides me with a step towards digital preservation, but it also means that it is much easier for me to share my data with other researchers. Making data open and accessible so that others can re-use it is the topic of my next blog post.

References

O’Carroll, A., & Webb, S. (2012). Digital archiving in Ireland: national survey of the humanities and social sciences. National University of Ireland Maynooth. (See http://dri.ie/digital-archiving-in-ireland-2012.pdf).

About the author

Penny Johnston is a PhD candidate in UCC. She is interested in digital preservation, and has started to archive her back catalogue of archaeobotany reports online, so that others can re-use her work without having to ask her permission.

Introducing the Irish Wood Anatomists Association

Who we are

The Irish Wood Anatomists Association (IWAA) was established in 2007 to exchange information between wood specialists working in the archaeological sector. This group acts as a forum for discussing results and encouraging collaboration. Initially it comprised of individuals who identified and analysed wood through the different anatomical characteristics of each tree species. The IWAA then encouraged other people to join who worked in comparable specialist fields using wood as the main paradigm for woodlands reconstruction, wider environmental impact and woodworking evidence. Consequently the wood group now includes wood anatomists, woodworking specialists, pollen analysts and insect specialists. The group merged with the IADG in 2014 

Left: Oak tree (Quercus sp.); Right: Microstructural characteristics of oak

What we do

Similar to the archaeobotanical group our aims are many and varied. We promote high standards of methodological reporting and cataloguing of wood proxies. As we often work alone, we share problematic identifications, so collaboration and discussions between each other is essential. Commenting on documents, such as the Bord na Móna on-site sampling procedures for the Department of the Environment, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, ensures we have input into the day-to-day methodological approaches on excavations. We have also been in discussion with the National Museum of Ireland on the viability and justification of the long-term storage of wood remains as well as insects from archaeological samples.

Middle and Late Bronze Age toolmarks; note the wider axe in the Middle Bronze Age (right)

The IWAA collaborated with the Discovery Programme in securing funding from the INSTAR scheme for ‘WODAN’ (www.wodan.ie). WODAN is a centralised database that incorporates wood and charcoal identifications from Ireland (including worked wood) and thus forms a digital archive. This archive can be assessed by researchers, private sector and public sector individuals interested in Ireland’s past woodlands.

The IWAA along with IADG ran two Continuous Professional Development (CPD) courses for the Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland (IAI) Archaeological in 2010 & 2011 on Archaeobotanical samples – how, where, what and when to sample on a range of archaeological sites.

Along with the IADG we continue to improve our professional qualifications and research endeavours by attending and co-organising sessions at many conferences as well as publishing and lecturing on new techniques and research areas. For example, a recent collaboration between members on the interrelationship between woodland history and urban life in Viking Age Ireland will be published in 2015. The group has been active in promoting research on Irish woodlands in various conferences, such as the International Meetings of Charcoal Analysis and the European Association of Archaeologists.

How can you find out more about our work?  

We will be updating this blog regularly, and profiles of most of the group members can be found on www.ipean.ie

About the authors

This article was written by Dr Ellen OCarroll and Dr Lorna O'Donnell, who are wood specialists and founder members of the IWAA.

New environmental archaeology guidelines

Researchers in environmental archaeology often analyse disparate datasets through time and space to come up with 'the big picture'. For example, we may wish to track the types of cereals being consumed at different locations, from small-scale excavations at ephemeral campsites up to very large-scale excavations at enclosed settlements.  In order to allow robust analyses, it is important that there is a standardised approach towards environmental sampling, analysing and reporting. In Ireland, unfortunately, this was not the case in recent years. Many different sampling, analysing and reporting styles emerged over the past two decades. Unsurprisingly, this made ‘big-data’ analyses more challenging for researchers. Environmental archaeologists began to recognise this problem over the last few years, and we decided to do something about it. No point in complaining unless you’re willing to be part of the solution!

Several of us started work with archaeologists at the National Roads Authority* in Ireland to develop guidelines on the retrieval, analysis and reporting of palaeoenvironmental remains recovered during archaeological excavations on road schemes. The NRA is the largest procurer of archaeological services in the Republic of Ireland, which means that the guidelines would have a very big impact on archaeological practice here. The guidelines have now been completed and published (download them here.), and are being implemented on NRA archaeology projects across Ireland. The guidelines enable a standardised approach, ensuring that palaeoenvironmental work conforms to the best professional standards, and is focused on achieving high-quality and scientifically meaningful results.

The guidelines focus on certain categories of remains, including plant macro-remains, charcoal, wood, pollen and insects. The guidelines were written by Dr Meriel McClatchie, who is an expert in non-wood plant remains, and Dr Ellen O Carroll, who is an expert in charcoal, wood and pollen analysis. Contributions on insects were also provided by Dr Eileen Reilly, who is also an expert in this area.

The NRA is now leading the way in Ireland in implementing best practice in environmental archaeology. We are keen to promote best practice more widely in Irish archaeology, so watch this space for further developments.

 
* Note that the NRA will soon be no more, because it is joining forces with the Railway Procurement Agency to form a new organisation, Transport Infrastructure Ireland. But the guidelines will still apply!

About the author

This article was written by Dr Meriel McClatchie, who is an archaeobotanist. Meriel recently started work on an INSTAR-funded project on late prehistoric landscapes, based at the Department of Archaeology, University College Cork. Meriel also has her own blog: Ancient Food and Farming.

Introducing the Irish Archaeobotany Discussion Group

Who are we? 

The Irish Archaeobotany Discussion Group (IADG) was established in 2007 to bring together archaeobotanists working in Ireland. The Group was envisaged as a forum where we could build professional relationships, discuss recent discoveries, seek solutions for problems that we were encountering, and establish strategies for development of the profession.

Charred hazelnut shell fragments (Image courtesy Meriel McClatchie)

Archaeobotany is the study of past societies and environments through the analysis of preserved plant remains from archaeological excavations. Our focus in the IADG is non-wood plant macro-remains; typical material that we examine includes ancient seeds, grains, nutshell and other vegetative remains.

Ten archaeobotanists were invited to the first meeting, most of whom were working in the private sector (sole traders and in companies), with a small number of colleagues based in universities at Cork and Belfast. The nature of work in archaeobotany – often working alone at a microscope or computer in the lab – means that individual workers can become quite isolated. The first meeting was held in University College Cork, and it was an excellent opportunity for us to get to know each other better and find out what each of us was doing. Over the years, we began to invite colleagues from related disciplines, such as pollen, wood and insect remains. We’re still quite a small group (around 15), but we have an ever-increasing impact on professional practice within archaeobotany and the wider discipline of archaeology, and we hope to have a long future!

What do we do? 

One of the main functions of the IADG is the organisation of discussion meetings. We hold several meetings each year, usually in Cork or Dublin. Our meetings are often chaired by Mick Monk, who is a founding member of the IADG. Over the years, our meetings have included discussion of identification and recording techniques, long-term storage of material, dissemination of results, and we sometimes include lab sessions to show interesting discoveries and seek opinion on tricky finds! We have also organised GIS training for our members, as well as field trips to meet with farmers and food producers. 

IADG field trip to an oat field in Co. Waterford, with farmer Harry Gray showing us around (Image courtesy Meriel McClatchie)

Individual members publish their own research in journals and monographs, but we do sometimes come together to write short pieces based upon our considerable combined expertise. For example, in 2007 we responded to an interesting article on brewing that was published in Archaeology Ireland, and our letter outlining our findings from the perspective of archaeobotany was published soon after. This blog, Environmental Archaeology in Ireland, is a further initiative established by members of the IADG to showcase the work of our members and colleagues in related areas.

The IADG is committed to promoting high standards in archaeobotany, and we put this into practice by providing training sessions for professionals in archaeology and related disciplines. For example, in 2010 we organised CPD (Continual Professional Development) training for members of the Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland (IAI). This event was co-organised with colleagues in the Irish Wood Anatomists Association (IWAA).The training consisted of a day of short talks supported by laboratory sessions and interactive discussions, and it provided archaeology professionals with an opportunity to learn about how, where, what and when to sample for plant macro-remains and wood on archaeological excavations. The event was successful, and due to demand, we ran the course again in 2011, this time including pollen and insect remains. 

Sharing our expertise at an IAI CPD event (Image courtesy IAI)

An ongoing initiative also relating to best practice is our collaboration with the National Museum of Ireland to develop a strategy for dealing with long-term storage of archaeobotanical remains.

How can you find out more about our work? 

Keep checking this blog! IADG members will be blogging here, so you will hear about our latest results and new discoveries.  You will be welcome to ask questions via the comments section.
 

About the author

This article was written by Dr Meriel McClatchie, an archaeobotanist and founding member of the IADG. Meriel recently completed an NUI-funded post-doctoral fellowship on early medieval agriculture at the School of Archaeology, University College Dublin. She is about to start work on an INSTAR-funded project on late prehistoric landscapes based at the Department of Archaeology, University College Cork. Meriel also has her own blog: Ancient Food and Farming.

A new environmental archaeology blog!

This is a new blog, established by environmental archaeologists working in Ireland (there are many of us, working in third level institutions, in companies and operating as sole traders). We set up the blog because we think what we do is fascinating, and we want to share it with a wider audience!

Environmental archaeology is the study of human-environment interactions through the scientific investigation of ancient remains. The remains often derive from archaeological excavations. Environmental archaeologists analyse a broad variety of material, including remains of plants, wood, animals, insects and many other types of material. These analyses reveal what people ate in the past, how they organised their economies, and how people interacted with their local environments and wider landscapes.

This blog will showcase interesting discoveries from environmental archaeology in Ireland. This could include insights into the diet of Ireland’s earliest hunter-gatherers, how we deal with enormous datasets, impacts of changing environments during later prehistory, and explorations of identity through the study of exotic medieval foods. 

The blog will start out by posting one article per month. Each article will be written by a different environmental archaeologist, which means you’ll get a chance to meet us and hear about our wide variety of research interests. You’ll also have an opportunity to ask us questions via the comments section. We hope you follow this blog and enjoy it.