International workshop on digital archaeology underway in Kohima

KOHIMA — A seven-day international workshop on ‘Introduction to digital archaeology: Northeast India’ organised by the History and Archaeology department of Nagaland University: Kohima campus and Institute of Pre-and-Protohistoric Archaeology, Kiel University, Germany, got underway at NU, Kohima campus on Friday.

Professor Tiatoshi Jamir, programme organiser from the department of History and Archaeology, Nagaland University, Kohima campus, said the workshop is aimed at providing exposure to the next generation as the previous generation was hardly aware of what digital archaeology is about.

He informed that in a few years from now digital archaeology is going to be an area of specialisation. He added that it is going to make a great impact in the way people do archeological researches.

According to him, it is a new way of understanding the past in a robust manner, which would offer archaeologists new ways and tools to understand, model, and interpret the past.

“The archaeologists from other parts of the world are beginning to equip with the new methods in archaeology. Indian archaeology is yet to effectively tap and utilise such digital resources to its advantage although noteworthy archaeological research are ongoing in the northeastern states of India like Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Assam etc.,” Jamir said.

Keeping in view the need for archaeologists of the Northeast region to equip themselves with the digital world, he said the ongoing international workshop is an essential training ground to learn new techniques of documentation which are essential in today’s modern archaeological research.

The pro-vice chancellor of Nagaland University, Kohima campus, Professor GT Thong, who attended the inaugural session as the guest, said the use of digital methods has enhanced the ability of archaeologists to analyse the geography and spatial relationships of ancient archaeological sites.

“It is used to conduct archaeological surveys by allowing the collection of data, but without destroying or damaging archaeological sites, which is very important because this helps in preserving the archaeological data,” he said.

According to the professor, many archaeological sites were discovered at various depths below the surface by using digital data. He informed that it has aided the reconstruction of historical monuments and artefacts such as pottery, human fossils and mummified remains.

He laid emphasised on the uses of LiDAR (light detection and ranging) particularly in the archaeological surveys. He said it is preferred for archaeological surveys due its speed, accuracy and accessibility to difficult terrain.

He further stressed on the significance of drone photography, GIS database generation, 3D modelling etc., which are now being commonly used in archaeological surveys.

The professor went on to point out that archaeologists of northeast India are less exposed to digital methods than their counterparts from the other parts of the country, although noteworthy archaeological researches are going on in the region.

He expressed believed that the workshop is timely and the use of digital methods would enhance the research works.

Participants of the workshop included PhD scholars/ early career faculty of archaeologists from the eight northeastern states. They would be trained in various digital applications of modern archaeological research.

Meanwhile, resource persons from Germany, Spain and across the country would explore various themes including the uses of drones, LiDAR and remote sensing applications in archaeology, GIS, photogrammetry and 3D modeling, digital recording systems in modern archaeological excavation using total station and GIS throughout the workshop.

Post workshop, a field excavation to a megalithic site in Mon district with the Kiel University (Germany) team has been organised for interested participants for a hands-on practical applications of modern excavation techniques introduced during the workshop.

The workshop would culminate on March 21.