My current role within the company is focused on GIS and survey. I am primarily based at our head office but from time to time I get released onto site to do some GPS or Total Station survey, or to provide some training in using our survey equipment to my colleagues in the field. Most of the time I can be found sitting at the computer doing GIS work.
What is GIS you may be thinking? GIS stands for Geographic Information System. It is a really important part of archaeology. At a basic level, it is essentially mapping. The GPS data taken on our sites to record the location of the archaeology we have found is brought to me. It is my job to firstly check the data for inconsistencies, format it appropriately and import it to the GIS. My job also involves digitising plan and section drawings and combining all of this information to create standardised figures for our reports.
It is a crucial role which allows me to be involved in many different projects and through every stage. As such I have a lot of varied tasks, ranging from georeferencing plans from clients and setting out trenches and site boundaries, to collating data at the end of a project. I’m also here to support staff in the field if they have a problem with the GPS or need an up to date plan of site. In a typical day I could be working on three or four different projects, completing any number of different tasks that are required. On occasion if a large project has recently completed, the GIS work may take up a large part of my week. It can be a time-consuming process and requires a lot of attention to detail to make sure everything is correct and accurate.
I spend some time looking after our survey equipment as well, checking that everything is working so that our field team have everything they need to do their job. From time to time I can also be found hunched over a dismantled camera like some kind of electronics Frankenstein, making sure they are cleaned and functional. On top of that, I often find myself being called on when my colleagues have problems with their computer!
It’s really difficult to try and paint a picture of a “typical” day in my job. It’s an interesting one because sometimes the days can feel very much the same but other weeks the days can vary quite a bit. It is for this very reason that I enjoy my job a lot as I never really know what the next day will bring or what new challenges will come along.