INSIGHTS INTO THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN DIGITAL AND ANALOG ARCHAEOLOGICAL TOOLS
Posted on Wednesday 24 June 2026
The recently published Digital Impacts on Archaeological Fieldwork: Advantages and Limitations includes two chapters from the Department of Archaeology. The first of the two chapters is by Dr Loes Opgenhaffen, who examines how digital innovations interact with traditional practices in archaeological field recording, focusing on field illustration at ancient Satricum. It assesses to what extent new technologies reshape or sustain established technical traditions, highlighting a balance between innovation and continuity. She argues that despite ongoing transformation, archaeological visualisation continues to produce familiar-looking results while integrating new tools. Dr Opgenhaffen’s current research at York, ‘Under Construction: Visualising the organisation of building sites in Archaic Satricum (ca. 600–480 BCE) in 3D’ also explores how new technologies are impacting established ancient building practices and modern archaeological practices and modes of visualisation.
In their contribution to the edited volume Dr James Taylor and Dr Holly Wright highlight how digital technologies are often used to replicate traditional methods rather than leverage their transformative potential. They argue that by embedding digital tools into a socialized archaeological practices, we can fundamentally reshape archaeological workflows to foster more critical and reflexive engagements with our data. Rather than letting digital technology be co-opted in the name of economic efficiency, they emphasise that it is imperative to safeguard spaces for creative exploration and playful engagement within digital workflows, ensuring that digital methodologies enhance, rather than erode, archaeological interpretation.
Digital Impacts on Archaeological Fieldwork: Advantages and Limitations. Proceedings of the International Workshop held at the Norwegian Institute at Athens, December 4–5, 2024 is available as an open access book via the Norwegian Research Information Repository.