Towards a three-dimensional cost-effective registration of the archaeological heritage

Archaeological practice within the European context of heritage management is facing huge challenges in ways of recording and reproduction of ex-situ preserved sites. As a consequence of the Valletta-treaty, numbers of archived images and drawings of excavated structures as prime sources of past human activity, are exponentially growing. Contrarily to portable remains however, their future study and revision is biased by the two-dimensional character of the recorded data, rendering difficult their future reconstruction for new study or public dissemination. A more realistic three-dimensional (3D) way of recording and archiving should be pursued. In this paper the possibilities for 3D registration of archaeological features are examined in a computer vision-based approach using the PhotoScan software package (Agisoft LCC). It proved to be a scientific and cost-effective improvement compared to traditional documentation methods. Advantages can be found in the high accuracy and straightforwardness of the methodology. The extraction of an orthophoto or a Digital Terrain Model from the 3D model makes it feasible to integrate detailed and accurate information into the digital archaeological excavation plan. The visual character of 3D surface modeling offers enhanced output-possibilities allowing a better documentation of in-situ structures for future research and a higher public participation and awareness for the archaeological heritage.     

Book reviews

Native Resistance and the Pax Colonial in New Spain edited by Susan Schroeder. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 1998. Pp. xxvi + 2000, maps. $45.00/£42.75 (hardback); $19.95/£18.95 (paperback). ISBN 0–8032–4266–2; 0–8032–9249‐X.

European and Native American Warfare, 1675–1815 by Armstrong Starkey. London: UCL Press, 1998. Pp. viii + 208. £40.00 (hardback); £13.95 (paperback). ISBN 1–85728–554–9; 1–85728–555–7.

Frontier Profit and Loss: The British Army and the Fur Traders, 1760–1764 by Walter S. Dunn, Jr. Westport, CT, and London: Greenwood Press, 1998. Pp.xi + 196, map. £47.95 (hardback). ISBN 0–313–30605–2.

British Identities before Nationalism: Ethnicity and Nationhood in the Atlantic World, 1600–1800 by Colin Kidd. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Pp.viii + 302. £35.00. ISBN 0–521–62403–7.

Protestantism and National Identity: Britain and Ireland, c. 1650‐ c. 1850 edited by Tony Claydon and Ian McBride. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Pp.xii + 317. £40.00 (hardback). ISBN 0–521–62077–5.

Scottish Highlanders in Colonial Georgia: The Recruitment, Emigration, and Settlement at Darien, 1735–1748 by Anthony W. Parker. Athens and London: University of Georgia Press, 1997. Pp.xiii +182. £31.50 (hardback). ISBN 0–8203–1915–5.

In Irons: Britain's Naval Supremacy and the American Revolutionary Economy by Richard Buel, Jr. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1998. Pp.xi + 397. £25.00/$35.00 (hardback). ISBN 0–300–07388–7.

Science and Exploration in the Pacific: European Voyages to the Southern Oceans in the Eighteenth Century edited by Margarette Lincoln. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press in association with the National Maritime Museum, 1998. Pp.xix + 228, illus. £35.00/$63.00 (hardback). ISBN 0–85115–721–1.

Imperial Benevolence: Making British Authority in the Pacific Islands by Jane Samson. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1998. Pp.xiii + 240, maps. $35.00 (hardback). ISBN 0–8248–1927–6.

The Maratha War Papers of Arthur Wellesley, January to December 1803 edited by Anthony S. Bennell. Stroud, Glos.: Sutton Publishing for the Army Records Society, 1998. Pp.xi + 458. £40.00 (hardback). ISBN 0–7509–2069–6.

Contentious Traditions: The Debate on Sati in Colonial India by Lata Mani. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: University of California Press, 1998. Pp.xiv + 246, illustrations. $47.00/£37.50 (hardback); $18.00/£13.95 (paperback). ISBN 0–520–21407–2 (paperback).

’Christen und Gewürze’: Konfrontation und Interaktion kolonialer und indigener Christentumsvarianten edited by Klaus Koschorke. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1998. Pp.298. DM 98 (paperback). ISBN 3–525–55960–7.

Religion in Victorian Britain, Volume V: Culture and Empire edited by John Wolffe. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1997. Pp.viii + 359, illustrations. £14.99 (paperback). ISBN 0–7190–5184–3.

Imperialism and Colonialism: Essays on the History of European Expansion by H.L. Wesseling. Westport, CT and London: Greenwood Press, 1997. Pp.x + 212. £47.50 (hardback). ISBN 0–313–30431–9.

The Foundations of Naval History: John Knox Laughton, the Royal Navy and the Historical Profession by Andrew Lambert. London: Chatham, 1998. Pp.256, illustrations. £30.00 (hardback). ISBN 1–86176–086–8.

Sturm über dem Nil. Der Mahdi‐Aufstand: Aus den Anfängen des islamischen Fundamentalismus by Wilfried Westphal. Sigmaringen: Thorbecke, 1998. Pp.419, 23 pictures, three maps. DM 48.00 (hardback). ISBN 3–7995–0092–8.

The Journal of John Wodehouse First Earl of Kimberley for 1862–1902 edited by Angus Hawkins and John Powell. Camden Fifth Series Volume 9. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press for the Royal Historical Society, 1997. Pp.xxii + 530. £40.00 (hardback). ISBN 0521–62328–6.

Lord Methuen and the British Army: Failure and Redemption in South Africa by Stephen M. Miller. London, and Portland, OR: Frank Cass, 1999. Pp.viii + 279, maps. £39.50/$57.50 (hardback), £17.50/$26.50 (paperback). ISBN 0–7146–4904‐X; 0–7146–4460–9.

Francophone Sub‐Saharan Africa 1880–1995 by Patrick Manning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Pp.xii + 247, maps. £40.00 (hardback); £14.95 (paperback). ISBN 0–521–64255–8; 0–521–64519–0.

Mau Mau From Below by Greet Kershaw. Oxford: James Currey, 1997. Pp.xxx + 354. £14.95 (paperback). ISBN 0–85255–731–0.

Mau Man and Kenya by Wunyabari O. Maloba. Oxford: James Currey, 1998. Pp.x + 228. £14.95 (paperback). ISBN 0–85255–745–0.

History of Central Africa: The Contemporary Years Since 1960 edited by David Birmingham and Phyllis M. Martin. London: Longman, 1998. Pp.vii + 314. £17.99 (paperback). ISBN 0–582–27607–1.

Iran and the Rise of Reza Shah: From Qajar Collapse to Pahlavi Power by Cyrus Ghani, London: I.B. Tauris, 1998. Pp.xiv + 434. £29.50 (hardback). ISBN 1–86064–258–6.

A History of Laos by Martin Stuart‐Fox. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Pp.xv + 253, maps. £35.00 (hardback); £12.95 (paperback). ISBN 0–521–59235–6; 0–521–59746–3.

Britain in China: Community, Culture and Colonialism 1900–1949 by Robert Bickers. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1999. Pp.xii + 276, tables, illustrations. £45.00 (hardback); £15.99 (paperback). ISBN 0–7190–4697–1; 0–7190–5697–7.

Between Two Oceans: A Military History of Singapore From First Settlement to Final British Withdrawal by Malcolm H. Murfett, John N. Miksic, Brian P. Farrell, and Chiang Ming Shun. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. Pp.xviii + 398. £35.00 (paperback). ISBN 0–19–588482–5.     

NEIGHBOURHOOD ETHNIC MIX AND THE FORMATION OF MIXED‐ETHNIC UNIONS IN BRITAIN: A LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS

Although developed societies are becoming increasingly ethnically diverse, relatively little research has been conducted on geographies of mixed‐ethnic unions (married or cohabiting). There is some recent evidence from the US that mixed‐ethnic couples are more likely to be found in mixed‐ethnic neighbourhoods, but this research is based on cross‐sectional data. Therefore it is not possible to determine whether mixed‐ethnic couples are more likely to form in mixed‐ethnic neighbourhoods or whether they are more likely to move there. Our longitudinal analysis allows us to tease out the relative importance of these two processes, furthering our understanding of the formation of mixed‐ethnic unions. Using data from the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study we examine neighbourhood effects on the formation of mixed‐ethnic unions in England and Wales. We find that mixed‐ethnic unions are more likely to form in neighbourhoods with low concentrations of co‐ethnic population. The results from this study lend support to the contact theory that geographical proximity to other ethnic groups enhances mutual understanding between people from different ethnic groups and could lead to the development of intimate partnerships.