The Mystery of Stonehenge....
Thu 5th Mar 2009
Undeterred by the heavy snow, early February saw the English Heritage team of Trevor Pearson, Peter Topping and David Field on-site in Wiltshire collecting data for a 1:1000 scale survey of the archaeological earthworks of Stonehenge and its immediate environs and a 1:2500 archaeological survey of the wider landscape.
The team carried out the 1:1000 survey using Trimble's R8 GNSS receiver with VRS Now Service (providing instant access to RTK corrections across Great Britain without the need for a base station) and a Trimble mapping GeoXT hand held GPS for the second survey. Head of Technical Survey and Graphics (Archaeology) Trevor Pearson explained, "This survey is intended to increase understanding of the Stonehenge monument and its landscape and to provide information to assist with management and presenting the site to visitors. Our GPS tool-box is well stocked with compatible Trimble systems enabling us to select the right tool for the job whether it's to provide a highly detailed survey at 1:1000 or a rapid landscape survey at 1:2500. All the data will feed ultimately into a project GIS"
Also on the 5000 year old site was KOREC's Matthew Lock, using Trimble's Spatial Imaging Rover - a combination of VX Spatial Station and R8 VRS data to give real time Ordnance Survey coordinated point cloud data and imagery of the stones. Although the VX was able to pick out some ancient inscriptions on the stones, the reason behind their construction looks likely to remain a mystery forever!
Image 1: Peter Topping with the Trimble R8
Image 2: KOREC's Matthew Lock with the SI Rover
