HELSINKI SYMPOSIUM ON AERIAL ARCHAEOLOGY 2004, Helsinki, Finland

About the symposium

DRAFT PROGRAMME FOR THE SEMINAR, 4-5 OCTOBER 2004

Registration Form

The seminar will be held at The National Museum of Finland, auditorium, Mannerheimintie 34. There will be four sessions each day, mostly of 90 minutes, with 30-minute breaks mid-morning and mid-afternoon, plus a lunch-break of 60-90 minutes. On the first evening there will be a special talk by Dr Otto Braasch.

The 'visiting' team of speakers will consist of Bob Bewley, Dave Cowley, Toby Driver, Pete Horne, Dave MacLoed, Chris Musson, Rog Palmer (UK); Otto Braasch, Irwin Scollar (Germany); Michael Doneus (Austria), Darja Grosman (Slovenia).

MONDAY 4 OCTOBER

9.00 INTRODUCTION

• Welcome by Mika Lavento (Helsinki University)
• Response by Bob Bewley (English Heritage and AARG)
• 'From photography to landscape interpretation'.
• Domestic announcements by organisers (meals, travel etc)

9.15-10.45 SESSION 1 Setting the scene: principles, problems and opportunities

• Purpose and format of the symposium ; the uses and limitations of archaeological air survey Chris Musson
• Discussion
• Geology, soils, climate, land-use, archaeology - and aspirations
  Five-minute summaries of local conditions by participants from each country, addressing questions listed by UK team (to be supplied later).
• Discussion

Short break 15 min

11.00-12.30 SESSION 2 Flights into the past: heritage survey from light aircraft

• What can be seen from the air? And how does it show? Pete Horne
  Basic discussion of soilmarks, cropmarks, low light etc and the kind ofthings that the aerial viewpoint can reveal.
• Free-ranging air survey in practice Dave MacLoed/Toby Driver
  Basic practicalities - aircraft, pilots, cameras, flight recording, post-flight procedures and archiving; planning a survey programme.
• Discussion

Lunch break (12.30-13.30)

13.30-15.00 SESSION 3 Vertical air photos, satellite and other digital methods, photomaps

• Short contributions by several speakers on other sources of 'aerial' information, including availability, uses and costs.
• Vertical air photos and what they may show Rog Palmer
• Satellite and airborne digital imagery Rog Palmer, Pete Horne
• German WWII photo-maps Wlodek Raczkowski/Darja Grosman
• A web bases GUI for viewing and analysing high volumes of digital
  imagery and GIS data Juha Saarentaus, Centroid
• Discussion after each contribution and/or at end of session

Break 30 min

15.30-17.00 SESSION 4 Purposes and practicalities of air-photo mapping

• Why make maps, and how to go about it Rog Palmer
  Purposes, pre-requisites and present-day methods.
• Sites, complexes and landscapes Pete Horne
  Mapping for different purposes, and text-records for local and national use.
• Aerial survey and cultural resource management Bob Bewley
• Discussion

Short break

17.15- SPECIAL TALK: 'Ice, wind and water: flights across Europe' Otto Braasch

• Frost, ice, snow, erosion, drought and 'under-water' photography.

TUESDAY 5 OCTOBER

9.00-11.00 SESSION 5 Aerial work in the Baltic and Nordic States

• Six(?) short talks (15 min+ 5 min discussion) on work done, problems faced and lessons learned in participating countries ( Lis Helles Olesen, Oscar Aldred, Wlodek Raczkowski, Jouko Luoto, Kjell Edvinger, Roma Jarockis, Juris Urtans (or similar list of contributors)

Short Break (15 min)

11.15-12.30 SESSION 6 Using aerial survey: some examples

• Four 15-minute talks illustrating particular aspects or uses
• Dave Cowley on the Defence Estates Project; Toby Driver on monument monitoring and pre-survey flying; Dave MacLoed on urban and industrial recording; Bob Bewley on landscape characterisation.
• Discussion

Lunch break (12.30-13.30)

13.30-15.00 SESSION 7 Using aerial survey: more examples

• Another three talks focusing on interpretation/investigation/integration
• Pete Horne on 'national' mapping projects; Darja Grosman on work in 'unhelpful' contexts (Slovenia and Croatia); Michael Doneus on integrating aerial evidence, geophysics, excavation and fieldwork.
• Discussion

Break 30 min

15.30-17.00 SESSION 8 Looking to the future: reflections and aspirations

• Spreading the word Short contributions by several speakers
  The importance of ready access to air photographs and information derived from the: GIS methods, web-access etc.
• Reflections: realities that condition our aspirations Chris Musson Opportunities and limitations vary but each country can and must find its own 'aerial archaeology'. Discussion after short introduction.
• Comments from national representatives, then general discussion
  Reactions to seminar talks and discussions, and hopes for the future.
• Conference resolutions?
• Closing remarks by Finnish organisers

CHRIS MUSSON/ NINA HEISKA , 15 August 2004 HELSINKI/SEMINAR PROGRAMME(4) Modified by Katri Koistinen 15 September 200