The article is devoted to the study of the place of geoinformatics methods in the Russian archeology of the modern stage. Characteristic features of the use of GIS have been identified, which determine the specifics of modern complex archaeological research. The author concluded about a qualitatively new stage in the development of archeology under the influence of GIS technologies.
Keywords: Russian archaeology, geographic information systems, GIS, integrated archaeological research, remote sensing.
The growing number of archaeological studies directly or indirectly related to the use of GIS methods and technologies in Russian science over the past twenty years has expressed global trends. We can say that as a result of the adaptation of geographic information technologies to specific tasks of archeology, a new field of archaeological knowledge has arisen.
The priority area of modern archeology is not so much the direct study of the archaeological site as the study of it in the context of the natural and historical landscape. In such conditions, the requirements for archaeological research change — an archaeologist must not only own the data on the object under study, but also build a research based on the synthesis of archaeological and geographical information. The latter circumstance determines the specifics of the use of GIS technologies at the current stage of the development of domestic archeology.
In Russian science, the understanding of GIS as an information system that provides collection, storage, analysis, access, display and dissemination of spatially coordinated data is considered well-established [5, p. 8]. The key position of this definition is data (source of information) that has a strict geographical reference to the terrain. In archaeological science, almost any source has a fixed position in space in geographical or conventional coordinates [5, p. 9].
Thus, the use of GIS makes it possible to study any archaeological objects at all levels, starting with the analysis of archaeological cultures and ending with the features of the location of monuments and individual finds in the cultural layer [6, p. 83]
The universality and inclusiveness of GIS technologies, the special nature of the archaeological (material) source lead to the widespread penetration of geoinformatics methods into archaeology. The development of GIS in Russia began in the late 80s of the XX century, and in the mid-90s a real «GIS boom» began in the country, which continues at the present time [1, p. 5]. The study of these processes allows us to identify some characteristic trends that determine the specifics of the use of GIS methods in archaeology and have become particularly noticeable in recent decades.
Traditional methods of archaeological research at a modern level of development of a science are supplemented by modern information technologies and methods of natural sciences, for example, methods of remote sensing of the Earth (ERS) — observation of a surface of the Earth by means of ground, aviation and space survey means for the purpose of revealing of potential archaeological objects [5, p. 58].
In the second decade of the XXI century in archeology are actively used remotely piloted aircraft — quadcopters (drones). V. A. Gnera [4] identifies the following opportunities for the use of drones:
1) planned and prospective low-altitude aerial photography;
2) surveying in conditions of dense urban development;
3) creation of panoramic images;
4) building 3D-models of objects based on images.
All the above-mentioned functions allow to create aerial photos in a shorter period of time for implementation into GIS and preparation of archaeological documentation. The drone software provides the positioning system (GPS) for exact positioning in space [4].
No less interesting is the experience of using aerospace materials. The methodological bases of satellite images analysis are described in detail in the work of D. S. Korobov [5, p. 58]. In 2002, the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences under the leadership of G. E. Afanasiev created the geographic information system «Kislovodsk», which was based on the idea of integrating remote sensing data with GIS analysis technologies [2]. I. L. Shingirei [11], G. V. Trebeleva [10, p. 21], and G. P. Garbuzov [3, p. 25] have built their research in a similar way.
Thus, the first trend determining the specificity of the penetration of GIS methods in archaeology is the integration of methods of geoinformatics and natural sciences. The latter serve as a collection of information and their primary processing, GIS technologies, in turn, act as a tool for a deeper analysis. We state that the integration of GIS and remote sensing methods is a consequence of the further penetration of GIS technology in archaeology, providing a comprehensive integrated research.
The second trend is also clearly represented in modern archaeology. Traditionally three stages of archaeological research are distinguished: field (collection and fixation of materials), chamber (processing by laboratory methods) and desk (construction of historical conclusions). These three stages are an integral part of scientific research in archaeology, they are interrelated [7, р. 32].
Specific feature of the application of GIS methods is their all-encompassing nature. Thus, during the study of the «Tell Khazna I» monument by the Syrian expedition of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2002, the ASG-10 balloon was used for the low-altitude survey of the monument (field stage). The methodological bases for the conducted work were described in the article by D. V. Rukavishnikov [9]. At the cameral stage of the study the subsequent processing of the images and the creation of a consolidated image by means of GIS technologies were carried out, which allowed at the desk stage to make a number of conclusions about the structure of the monument and to predict the location of individual objects in the not yet uncovered area of the monument.
In the course of the field research, most of the finds are mass material (ceramic shards and fragments of animal bones). Mass material is not recorded on drawings, its processing is sorting and entering data into tables; after studying it, it is buried, unless a collection is selected. Thus, the source for the study becomes tabular data.
In the archaeological study of Novgorod an important problem has always been the coordination of layers and tiers of buildings. Since tabular data far not always reflect the peculiarities of the distribution of mass material on individual estates, the need to turn to more advanced methods arose [8].
The table of mass material content is converted into tables for each tier. The result of this work is a table of the content of material in each square of the estate, which is subjected to further study. No less interesting are the methods allowing to reveal spatial regularities of mass material distribution.
Thus, the construction of the «distribution surface» by the methods of geostatistics allowed to establish the areas of material concentration in the cultural layer [8], to reveal the location of trash heaps, the boundaries of estates, which are the centers of mass material accumulation, and to establish the zones of minimum layer saturation (possible entrances to the constructions).
When studying the complex of Novgorod estates using the above methods, scientists were able to identify the coincidence of zones of concentration of mass material and unattributed objects. Thus, it was concluded that objects whose functional significance could not be established became garbage in ancient times and fell into the cultural layer as waste.
Spatial analysis based on the application of GIS technologies made it possible to obtain additional data which could not be established accurately enough using classical methods, namely, the features of the structure of medieval estates, the intensity of human activity, the nature of the fallout of finds into the cultural layer [8]. Thus, universality and comprehensiveness of GIS became the catalyst of the process of introduction of methods of geoinformation systems in complex archaeological researches at all stages of their carrying out.
All right, during the conducted analysis we have established that in development of modern domestic archeology of GIS it is possible to designate some specific tendencies: firstly, there is an integration of methods of geoinformatics and natural sciences (GIS technologies and remote sensing methods), secondly GIS methods are introduced in archeology at all stages of research. Application of GIS technologies in modern complex integrated archaeological research has received a sufficient scope and is justified as it reduces time and labor costs for carrying out fixing, reconnaissance, forecasting, the analysis of the geoinformation data. We can talk about a qualitatively new stage in the development of domestic archaeology since the early 2000s and the emergence of a new area of archaeological knowledge.
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