Establishing Best Practices for Photogrammetric Recording During Archaeological Fieldwork

Abstract

Archaeologists have recently embraced photogrammetry as a low-cost, efficient tool for recording archaeological artifacts, active excavation contexts, and architectural remains. However, no consensus has yet been reached about standard procedures for reliable and metrically accurate photogrammetric recording. The archaeological literature describes diverse equipment and approaches to photogrammetry. The purpose of this article is to open a discussion about when and how photogrammetry should be employed in archaeology in an effort to establish “best practices” for this new method. We focus on the integration of photogrammetry within a comprehensible research plan, the selection of equipment, the appropriate apportionment of labor and time on site, and a rubric for site photography that is conducive to successful and efficient modeling. We conclude that photogrammetric modeling will soon become an indispensable tool in most archaeological applications but should always be implemented in ways that do not place undue burdens on project personnel and budgets and that aid research goals in well-defined ways.