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Switching to Digital Tools: heritage evaluation for preventive archaeology in Hungary

Máté Stibrányi

Forster Gyula Nemzeti Örökségvédelmi és Vagyongazdálkodási Központ, AK17774, Táncsics Mihály u. 1, Budapest 1014, HUNGARY. mate.stibranyi@forsterkozpont.hu

Cite this as: Stibrányi, M. 2017 Switching to Digital Tools: heritage evaluation for preventive archaeology in Hungary, Internet Archaeology 43. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.43.8

During the last decade in Hungary, preliminary operations for large-scale archaeological excavations have became more and more important: the stakeholders have realised that it is cost-effective to spend more on the assessment phase rather than incurring higher expenditure because of problems related to an ill-planned project. Thorough knowledge of the size and characteristics of archaeological sites can largely contribute to the protection of the cultural heritage, as well as saving time and money.

From 2011 Preliminary Archaeological Evaluations have been a mandatory part of the permission process of large-scale constructions (that is to say, a total minimum cost of c.1,600,000 EUR). These evaluations consist of desktop studies (such as analyses of historical documents and maps), as well as field investigations with a budget of 0.35% of the total construction cost. The goal is to make precise archaeological project plans, and to assess the optimal mitigation process.

The Forster Centre – and its predecessor – has been responsible for the coordination and execution of preventive archaeological evaluations since 2013. During that time we have established and tested a GIS-based method which has been effective in large-scale investments and which – due to financial constraints – relies greatly on non-invasive methods as tools to help our investigation strategies.

Our current strategy relies on three interdependent tasks: GIS-based field surveys, large-scale magnetometer surveys and targeted trial excavations. The scale of our tasks is challenging and demanding at the same time: the investigation of large areas with various methods gives us substantial and reliable datasets on the archaeological landscape. Collecting and comparing these GIS-based datasets on a nationwide scale gives us an opportunity to determine the most effective methods to identify and protect the archaeological heritage. One of the most promising opportunities is to create a comparative database, where the outcomes of geophysical surveys and excavations from hundreds of hectares are available across the country. Using the results, we can set up a comprehensive archaeological geophysics database that would facilitate making our magnetic prospections more accurate and our methods more targeted.

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