Page 303 - Green - Maritime Archaeology: A Technical Handbook. 2nd ed

282 Maritime Archaeology: A Technical Handbook, Second Edition
Indisputably, the most convenient means of registering artifacts and recording the related information is to enter the information on a computer. There are immense advantages to operating a computer in the field and a great deal of time and effort can be saved in cataloging and accessing infor- mation if this is done on site. Most mains-operated computers can be powered by a gas generator weighing about 20kg or a small laptop com- puter with a solar panel can be used if mains power is unavailable. Using a database program, information can be entered quickly and efficiently and the system can provide readable and reliable data, either on a screen or on a printer. These data can then be available in a printed form for reference, or individuals can use the computer to search for particular items or to carry out specialized operations on these data. Data can be extracted from the database and used in other programs to provide immediate on-site infor- mation or analysis (see Chapter 14, Section VII.D). The great advantage of this system is that it removes one level of transcription error from the system, and once entered it can be transferred into other applications and used for other purposes without having to carry out another transcription. Handwritten catalogs should not be used in this day and age, and if there is a requirement for a hard copy then printing the computer catalog is the ideal solution.
The catalog should tabulate all the relevant information. A typical field register would include, in addition to the registration number, the date of recovery, material code, brief description, location, excavator, dimensions, weight, and additional notes. At a later date it is always possible to add extra entry categories. With a computer system mistakes are least likely to be made if the record is put directly into the computer using a look-up table to reduce the chance of spelling mistakes.
With the system of direct entry into the computer, the preparation of the database has to be thought out very carefully, and it is essential to be thor- oughly conversant with the data entry system prior to going into the field. If one is unfamiliar with computers and databases, a mistake or a crash in the field could be catastrophic; similarly, an unreliable or untried system can be a danger, and it is strongly advised that the system is thoroughly tested before going into the field with regular backup made of the data when working in the field.
An excavation of a shipwreck usually results in the recovery of large numbers of objects. These are generally immediately separated into differ- ent material types for conservation purposes. Storage of the object and its conservation is largely dictated by the nature of the material. For this reason, registration of objects by material is very useful; for example, objects can be divided into groups labeled stone, ceramic, nonferrous, miscellaneous, organic, ferrous, etc. Where there are particularly large