For this week’s blog, I have added a few more visualizations that examine specific goals for each excavation, as well as the type of information researchers intend to gain from their fieldwork. One aspect that emerged from this data was the lack of consideration regarding site preservation. Although government officials in Pompeii state that one of their primary concerns is preservation of the ancient ruins, I was surprised that these issues were not addressed by institutions conducting current fieldwork projects. This issue seems even more problematic considering the recent collapse of a significant number of excavated houses in Pompeii in the past few weeks.
As the second draft of my paper has been a major focus of my weekend, I am undecided whether all of the visuals will be included in the final draft of the project. I have also spent a considerable amount of time considering where my data may be lacking, as well as how I could change or expand the project if I had the time. One aspect of concern was the use of a single city, and if I had a few more weeks, I would have chosen a compatible site to Pompeii, either in Greece or Turkey, in order to compare data from two primary regions in Classical archaeology today; however, maybe in the future.
Wow, Geri, nicely done. I was struck by a few things: excavations starting in the 18th century? I had no idea. And the amount of excavation devoted to domestic space-do you attribute that to what the funding institution’s goals are, or to the fact that there is actually more domestic space than anything else? My work in archaeology has all been North American/Ukranian paleo culture, so it never really occurred to me that you would work on specific “kinds” of sites within a site. The range of institutions behind the funding is also quite interesting.
Your graphs look great, and help to explain a very convoluted archaeological history.
Can I make an UI recommendation? Rather than having random colors, have the chronology match the colors–e.g., by starting with yellows (18c), going through oranges (19c), and ending with reds (20c). That way, it will be easier to see trends.