iPad Pro aids archaeologists in preserving Pompeii's ancient history through modern means
In the heart of Italy, a team of archaeologists, led by Tulane University professor Dr. Allison Emmerson, is making groundbreaking discoveries using an unlikely tool - the iPad Pro. This device has significantly improved the efficiency and effectiveness of data capture for archaeologists, revolutionizing excavation methods and preserving ancient history.
The Tulane University Pompeii I.14 Project is currently excavating a commercial building believed to be a restaurant dating back to the second or third century B.C. The team has unearthed a trove of artifacts, including a decorative mask, parts of cooking vessels, animal bones, and a tiny lamp, in a kitchen pit.
One of the most remarkable findings was an incredibly rare aureus coin, which dates it to the year 13 or the first part of 14 C.E. This discovery challenges the team's initial assumptions about the time period, suggesting a city on the rise, not one that was crumbling.
Dr. Emmerson sees Apple products as crucial in helping her arrive at answers and tell the stories of the people who lived in Pompeii. She and her colleagues are using the iPad Pro with Apple Pencil as the foundation for their work, with Esri's suite of tools and Concepts by TopHatch as additional apps.
The iPad Pro is credited with revolutionizing the archaeology field due to its capabilities like enhanced processing speed, battery life, LiDAR Scanner, and Apple Pencil. The LiDAR Scanner, in particular, has been instrumental in creating 3D maps of the excavation sites, which are helpful for Dr. Rogers to refer back to when analyzing data at the end of the dig. The 3D Scanner App by Laan Labs on iPad Pro is used to capture the detail of the trenches in just 10 to 15 seconds.
The tech team's goals this summer were to implement a completely paperless workflow using a single device and to create an online database for virtual re-excavation of the site. The digital team aggregated the scans and other information gathered on the dig to create an interactive database of the site, accessible online for digital re-excavation.
Dr. Alex Elvis Badillo, who co-leads the tech team, is pioneering new techniques for recording and publishing archaeological findings. He and his colleagues will present the database and discuss the iPad Pro workflow at the annual Archaeological Institute of America conference in January.
The use of iPad Pro in archaeology has enabled precise digital documentation, real-time data recording, and enhanced visualization of findings, improving efficiency and accuracy on-site. While specific archaeologists using iPad Pro during Pompeii excavations are not named in the available search results, the impact of this technology on archaeology is undeniable.
As Dr. Emmerson and her team continue to uncover more secrets of Pompeii, they are confident that the iPad Pro will continue to be an invaluable tool in their quest to preserve and understand the past. With more discoveries likely at the bottom of the pit, the future of archaeology is undoubtedly digital.
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