Missing Data and GIS: A Case Study Using Romano-British Metalwork Hoards

The requirement to integrate modern data with older records, sometimes centuries earlier, is increasing within archaeological applications of GIS. This problem can result in huge discrepancies in the information available within geodatabases alongside numerous, often differing levels of accuracy appearing in the spatial location of archaeological remains. However, there has been relatively little critique of how we analyse this data together and methods of dealing with the variations in data quality. There is little use critiquing complex analytical techniques and developing ‘Big Data’ projects if we do not understand the weaknesses of the data we are using.

This paper will discuss the theoretical concerns of integrating records from Britain of Roman hoards containing metal objects to use in GIS and reveal how the issues raised by this case study apply generally to archaeological applications of GIS. Roman hoards have been discovered since the 1600s and many have been lost. There are also differing levels of detail in the records and various levels of spatial accuracy surviving regarding their location. These considerations apply to the majority of archaeological remains and as a result they must be critically understood.

Rachael Sycamore (University of Leicester)