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ARCH40230: DIGITAL MAPPING AND SPATIAL ANALYSIS

It is possible that changes to modules or programmes might need to be made during the academic year, in response to the impact of Covid-19 and/or any further changes in public health advice.

Type Tied
Level 4
Credits 30
Availability Not available in 2024/2025
Module Cap
Location Durham
Department Archaeology

Prerequisites

  • None

Corequisites

  • None

Excluded Combinations of Modules

  • None.

Aims

  • By the end of the module students will have acquired a thorough knowledge of digital mapping methods using existing digital data sets, information from field surveys and other data from published sources, and an introduction to more advanced methods of spatial analysis (GIS).

Content

  • Lectures:
  • Sources of digital map data
  • Creating new digital data
  • Terrain modeling
  • Introduction to spatial analysis
  • Practicals:
  • ESRI software for mapping with Ordnance Survey and other data (x2)
  • Creating new digital map data (x2)
  • Terrain Modeling (x2)
  • GIS (x3)

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:

  • An understanding of the principles of digital mapping.
  • A knowledge of the range of digital data available from the Ordnance Survey and other sources, and their appropriate use.
  • An understanding of the basic principles of map projection.

Subject-specific Skills:

  • The ability to produce maps using Ordnance Survey data sets and other data based on plane co-ordinates.
  • The ability to project data expressed in geographic co-ordinates and combine these with data in a plane co-ordinate system.
  • The ability to produce three-dimensional terrain models

Key Skills:

  • The ability to apply principles of spatial analysis using proximity, visibility and cost surfaces.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

  • Lectures introduce the core subject knowledge
  • Practical classes introduce types of digital data and software applications
  • Tutorials give students an opportunity to obtain feedback on formative work and to obtain advice on specific aspects of the module.
  • All learning outcomes are assessed by a portfolio of work.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

ActivityNumberFrequencyDurationTotalMonitored
Lectures41 per fortnight1 hour4Yes
Tutorials22 per term1 hour2 
Practicals 91 or 2 per week2 hours18 
Preparation & Reading276 
Total300 

Summative Assessment

Component: PortfolioComponent Weighting: 100%
ElementLength / DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
Portfolio of work including publication-quality maps based on OS data and incorporating archaeological information from a range of sources, other maps using data from outside the UK, spatial analysis and interpretation of the location of sites within landscapes.100 

Formative Assessment

An essay (max. 1500 words) on the principles of digital mapping, plus graphical results of a digital mapping exercise.

More information

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