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Thanks to the initial generosity of Gil and Judy Shelton and the donors who helped match their contribution, CSA has purchased a Pentax total station surveying instrument, model PTS-V5, and a companion Corvallis data collector for use in Pompeii this summer.
The instrument chosen will provide accuracy to within 5 seconds on angles and 3 mm. in distance. It has some very desirable new features, including automatic correction for temperature and pressure variations. Testing with the instrument has been done in Bryn Mawr and in Charlottesville, with more to come; the instrument will go with Mr. Eiteljorg to Pompeii at the end of May.
The machine seems remarkably straight-forward to use, and training is rather simple. Most members of the staff of the Pompeii Forum Project will be able to use it by the end of the summer.
The inclusion of a data collector will help a great deal when the instrument is used in the field. Last year in Pompeii all measurements were recorded by hand and entered into the computer from the keyboard. This year the recording will be automatic, and the information can be put into the computer directly from the data collector. This will not only save time; it will eliminate two processes that can introduce error. We are very grateful to the Sheltons for making this purchase possible and to the other donors who helped to match the original gift.
When the request for funding was originally made, Mr. Eiteljorg indicated that he hoped it would be possible to rent the machine to other scholars who might need a total station but not for so long a period as to justify a purchase. That has proved to be possible this summer, and the machine will be used by Professors Gregory Warden and Susan Kane for their new excavation just outside Florence. Their Southern Methodist University project at the Etruscan acropolis of Poggio Colla, 22 miles northeast of Florence, will be directed by Mr. Warden. Ms. Kane will be the Field Director. The five-year project will also include field survey work.
The original plans for the total station also included holding summer workshops to train archaeologists in survey methods and the use of CAD. Plans for such workshops for the summer of 1996 are in the making.
Turn to the related article: Challenge Grant for ADAP Successfully Completed
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Table of Contents for the May, 1995 issue of the CSA Newsletter (Vol. 8, no. 1)
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