Simulating archaeologists? Using agent-based modelling to improve battlefield excavations

Authored by Xavier Rubio Campillo, Jose Maria Cela, Francesc Xavier Hernandez Cardona

Date Published: 2012-02

DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2011.09.020

Sponsors: Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN)

Platforms: Pandora Library Cassandra

Model Documentation: Other Narrative

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

The study of material culture generated by military engagements has created an emergent sub-discipline of archaeological studies centred on battlefields. This approach has developed a particular and sophisticated methodology that is able to deal with the fact that archaeologists will often not find either structures or a useful stratigraphical record on the site, as the material remains of the battle will basically be metallic objects carried by combatants. It is therefore rather complicated not only to test hypotheses about battle events based on archaeological data, but also to validate the methodology used. Here we propose the use of agent-based models to explore these issues in the case of eighteenth-century battlefield archaeology. The simulation is divided into four different steps. Firstly, a battle is simulated in order to generate realistic virtual archaeological remains left by an engagement between two armies of this era. We then simulate the loss of information that the passing of time produces in the battlefield. The third step involves simulating the archaeological survey, enabling us to explore different survey strategies and the impact on the interpretation of the event itself. Finally, we design a confidence index in order to compare the results of the different virtual excavations using spatial analysis and statistics. The results show that the methodology is fully functional in terms of understanding a battle, and it allows us to suggest new strategies to improve fieldwork and to develop new ways of exploring these particular archaeological sites. It is concluded that the described approach illustrates how simulation can be used to explore methodological issues of archaeological science. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tags

Agent-based modelling GIS high-performance computing Spatial Analysis Methodology Battlefield archaeology Historical archaeology