REPORT OF THE 84TH MEETING OF THE SOUTH WEST IMPLEMENT
PETROLOGY GROUP 22ND JANUARY 2013
The Group decided to seek approvals and funds for and proceed
with the project to digitise the records of that have been compiled
since 1936 and make them available free of charge on-line.
1. The records comprise thin-sections, photographs, drawings and
analyses of some 1,500 Neolithic polished stone axes but also site
reference material and samples of megalithic monuments such as
Stonehenge. It is a unique collection of data that demonstrates
human creativity and group interactivity across north-west Europe in
the Neolithic period.
2. The strategic aim to publish this material forms part of the written
agreement between the Federation and the Group finalised in May
2007.
3. The content is drawn from all the archaeological collections in
museums in the South West.
4. The project:
* reflects the widely acknowledged excellence of the research that
has been and is still being achieved to develop the premier collection
of such material in north-western Europe;
* will enable a much wider audience to access and interrogate the
data;
* will encourage wider public participation in the identification of new
finds and thereby extend support for the Portable Antiquities
Recording Scheme;
* will improve the resilience of the participating museums, their
collections and the reference collection held on their behalf by the
Group;
* will provide the first on-line database and associated interpretation
of the material of its kind;
* will improve understanding of the way in which use of scientific
techniques unlocks the potential of archaeological evidence.
5. The project will build on current work in the South West to develop
on-line resources especially the Wiltshire strand of the South West
Digital Development Project.
6. The cost of £4,290 comprises:
Conversion of existing database to MODES-html and scanning
images
£1,500
Engineering the SW Federation website
Plus VAT
Agent’s administration charge
£2,000
£400
£390
It is anticipated that at least 20 days’ of expert volunteer time will be
contributed by members of the Group to the project which at the HLF
rate of £350 per day would be valued at £7,000.
7. The commissioning agent will be Torquay Museum and the project
managed under the supervision of the Group’s Recording Officer,
Barry Chandler.
DD 5 March 2013