Recording Historic Shipwrecks at the Speed of Light: An Archaeological Analysis of the ULS-200 Underwater Laser Scanner to Sonar, Video, and Photographic Recording Methodologies

Summary

Since the beginning of underwater archaeology, the effective recording of sites has always been a challenge. This study will compare the ULS-200 underwater laser scanning device to other traditional archaeological recording methods, seek to quantify the average amount of time it takes to conduct a scan underwater and evaluate its accuracy in resolving an image at different turbidities and ranges. Within its ideal range, the expected outcome is that while it will take an equal or longer amount of time to acquire an image, the ULS will provide a near microscopic level of detail within +/- 5mm of accuracy. The implications for this new technology in underwater archaeology are simply unprecedented. Under the right conditions, its application will be of tremendous value to the researcher when it comes to reducing critical assumptions in the diagnostic evaluation of various archaeological features underwater. 

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Digital Age: Advances to Underwater Archaeological Survey Techniques   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2015

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 95