Day 3 saw the students begin the day on site with Andrew Wilson, the Zagora Archaeological Project’s GIS specialist, running a hands-on workshop on plotting and stringing out a trench area manually without the use of digital technology. Learning such basic fieldwork skills are an essential part of archaeological training.
Trenches require right angles and thanks to the Pythagorean mathematical ratio of a right-angle triangle of 3:4:5, right angles can be calculated with measuring tapes and mathematics!
A baseline string for the new trench was established and students were required to work together in 2 groups to plot right angles at opposite ends of the baseline. Following a few repeat attempts accompanied by passionate discussion, both groups succeeded in their task, allowing our first new trench of the season to be strung up ready for excavation! The precise location of the trench will now be surveyed in digitally using a Total Station so that it can be accurately located on the site plan.
