Antiquist and ArchCamp

Antiquist is an online community of people working with computing in the heritage sector.It is primarily a communication network – a way for us all to talk, argue, experiment, share ideas, and solve common problems. Antiquist members include archaeologists, museum professionals, historians, and other interested people.

(Copied from the Antiquist blog..)

Joining Antiquist

Antiquist communicates primarily via a Google Groups email list. There’s also a wiki, a blog, and some server space to try out new ideas and build new resources. If you’d like to join the conversation, head over to the Antiquist Google Group to sign up. You don’t need to work in the heritage sector, just a healthy interest in computing and heritage, and the will to get involved.

From time to time Antiquist folks get together at events known as ArchCamp. The format of these meetings is open, allowing for demonstrations, discussion, and practical sessions. The first one was held in 2006, hosted by L – P : Archaeology, coincidentally at the Old Truman Brewery (the site of CAAUK 2013!)

What is ArchCamp?

Leif Isaksen (original co-founder) summed up the first ArchCamp in 2006 (and copied from the wiki!):

The first attempt to explore the concept of a one-day unconference for archaeology – based on the idea of a BarCamp. Basically an opportunity for all archaeological computing people to get together and present their current ideas/theories/hare-brained schemes in a structure decided by the participants on the day.

There are no pre-accepted papers, instead the agenda and programme is decided on the morning of the ArchCamp and should theoretically be quite fluid as we go through the day.

ArchCamp at CAAUK 2013

In honor of the first ArchCamp in 2006 and in the tradition of ArchCamps at past CAA’s, we will be having a mini-ArchCamp following the CAAUK 2013 on Saturday, February 23 for all CAA survivors. This will be from 6ish, likely at the site of ArchCamp 2006 – the Big Chill Bar or Cafe 1001 in the Brewery. Like all ArchCamps, it’s just a space to share and document cool resources and projects we’re all working on, so no preparation necessary! If you’re interested just show up!

Further information regarding the venue choice will be announced at the conference.

Back to the past ...

Back to the past … CAAUK ArchCamp 2007, Southampton ACRG Lab (Image: Hembo Pagi)

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Technical Credits

The website was setup and maintained by the conference organisers, L – P : Archaeology. It is powered by WordPress and using a modified Blackbird theme by InkThemes.com.

The front page icons are from the community driven Noun Project and are attributed accordingly:

Megaphone designed by Rémy Médard from The Noun Project

Bicycle from The Noun Project

Registration from The Noun Project

Presentation designed by Joris Hoogendoorn from The Noun Project

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Open Access in Archaeology

Doug Rocks-Macqueen (Landward LLC, University of Edinburgh)

In April of last year, the president of the American Institute of Archaeology famously wrote,

We at the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), along with our colleagues at the American Anthropological Association and other learned societies, have taken a stand against open access. http://archive.archaeology.org/1205/departments/president.html

Yet, many archaeologists were left wondering, what is Open Access? If the AIA are against it should I be? Does archaeology even have Open Access?

This poster explores some of these questions. It examines what is Open Access and it relation to archaeology. It explores the current different offerings of Open Access in Archaeology, including how many there are and where to find them. Also, some of the challenges facing Open Access and some of the solutions proposed.

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The application of applications: The bump and grind of commercial archaeology

Peter Rauxloh (Museum of London Archaeology)

This paper takes the Day of Archaeology held in 2012 and the hosting of CAA by a commercial unit for the first time as its stimulus, to present a whistle-stop tour of some of the smaller and large challenges faced when applying computer systems to the doing of commercial archaeology in the realm of data management and capture.  It will consider the asymmetrical benefit of small incremental managed changes to system which allow us to fully exploit the bigger step-change technologies we adopt, the need to continually examine our processes, and fully consider the cost model for new technologies for robust metrics such that the benefits of new investments are actually reflected in project costs or increased capacity.

Video by Doug Rocks-Mcqueen, originally posted to his blog.

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Keynote: Open Archaeology

Mark Lake (University College London)

This paper will discuss some of the key themes raised in the recent ‘World Archaeology’ issue on the theme of Open Archaeology. It seems indisputable that there is now very real momentum towards greater willingness to share interpretations, data and software, but although technological developments are a major part of the story, the speaker will instead ask a series of questions about the social, cultural, political and economic ramifications of the Open Movement. Along the way he will reflect on the irony of publishing a collection of papers on Open archaeology in a conventional academic journal.

Video by Doug Rocks-Macqueen, originally posted on his blog.

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Personal Histories of CAA

CAAUK 2013 is happy to announce that we will be ‘screening’ the Personal Histories of CAA film during the conference. We are particularly looking forward to this, as it documents the experience of past CAA participants and the extent (and longevity!) of the CAA community here in the UK and beyond. The project organisers have sent through an abstract of the film and the CAA 2012 session, posted below:

John Wilcock reflects on his role in CAA (Image: CAA Conference Flickr)

This ‘Personal Histories of CAA’ film tells the story of CAA throughout the years as experienced by previous chairs and key participants.

CAA grew out of a small group of archaeologists and mathematicians interested in computer applications working in the UK in the early 1970s. The first conference was organized in Birmingham in 1973. It gradually evolved into an international event, and in 1992 it was organized outside the UK for the first time. Since then, CAA conferences have taken place in a different country each year. Since 2006 conferences are held outside Europe as well.

The 2012 edition at Southampton was the 40th anniversary of CAA. We
celebrated this event with the Personal Histories of CAA session held at the CAA conference venue on Wednesday 28 March, from 2pm to 4pm. At this celebratory session the founders, former chairs and key members of CAA throughout the last four decades shared their personal experiences with us. We were honoured that for this event we were able to welcome to Southampton Sue Laflin, Phil Barker, Clive Orton, John Wilcock, Nick Ryan, Paul Reilly and Hans Kamermans, as well as listen to an interview with Irwin Scollar. The session was moderated by the current chair of CAA, Gary Lock. The contributors discussed the advances in the field of archaeological computing fostered by the CAA as well as many personal social experiences.

Over the last forty years CAA has grown from an annual event at the University of Birmingham to a national and now worldwide conference attracting over 300 participants every year. It also lived through major changes in the role computing played in academia and people’s personal lives, through the availability of computers at academic institutions, the introduction of GIS, the affordability of computers for private use, the rise of user friendly operating systems, and last but not least the emergence and extreme impact of the world wide web. These events have strongly influenced the way archaeologists have used computing and quantitative techniques, and no organisation is a better reflection of this than CAA. The Personal histories of CAA session aimed to make
the current generation of archaeologists aware of such dramatic shifts, and to provide personal perspectives for charting fascinating future research avenues.

For more information about the Personal Histories project please visit the project’s website.

Tom Brughmans and Gareth Beale
Archaeological Computing Research Group, University of Southampton

Pamela-Jane Smith and the Personal Histories team
McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge

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Registration and the Waitlist

Due to overwhelming interest in CAAUK 2013 – our registrations have sold out in less than 2 weeks. Needless to say, this is really exciting for the organisers and CAAUK committee!

We are now in the process of looking into whether or not we can increase our capacity and issue a few additional spaces to the conference. If you have not yet registered and are still interested, we have enabled a waitlist on Eventbrite to allow you to register your interest. The waitlist is first come, first serve but by putting yourself on the list: you will be immediately notified when additional spaces become available during which *Eventbrite will reserve your spot for 2 days* until you complete registration.

Put your name on the waitlist now

If you do not see an option on the Eventbrite page for the waitlist, this means the waitlist is full. We are keeping a low cap on the waitlist as we have reached our capacity at the venue. However, as it turns out some people are giving up their tickets for other obligations, so there’s still hope yet! The waitlist will automatically open if we have spots, so keep yourselves at the ready! Of course, if you are very, very interested in coming you can always just email us and we will keep an eye out for you!

To keep informed, please monitor our News feed, Facebook event page or Twitter stream on the latest updates to the organisation of CAAUK 2013.

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Staying in London

London has a wealth of accommodation options – particularly near to the venue at Corbet Place, The Old Truman Brewery, 15 Hanbury Street, London E1 6QL. However, as we are located quite close to the City of London, prices for nearby accommodation can often be quite expensive. London is a popular place to stay all year round, so bookings should be made early. Most average priced hotels are concentrated around the Kings Cross and Russell Square area of London which is only a 15 minute tube ride from the conference venue or a 20-25 minute bus ride. Also the Stratford area of London has a wealth of accommodation venues having just hosted the Olympic Games.

Hotels

Hotels are obviously cheaper when you share a room. So if you are intending to meet up with your buddies at CAAUK, then we recommend that you sort out a per room per night booking with them. When looking for accommodation, your best bet is to first check out popular search engines such as, although not limited to: Booking.com or Hotels.com or Expedia.co.uk.

The conference organisers have liaised with a hotel near the venue who have offered some discounts to CAAUK delegates. Eligibility for the discounts below is conditional upon providing proof of conference registration at check-in.

City Hotel

12 Osborn Street, London E1 6TE
Tel: 020 7247 3313 Fax: 020 375 2949
Email: Tanya@cityhotellondon.co.uk
Web:  www.cityhotellondon.co.uk

Cost

Type of room: Twin Double rooms @ £99.00 per room per night, tax included

Amenities

Continental breakfast, wifi, and en-suite facilities are all included in the cost of the room.

Reserve

To make a reservation please contact the front office manager (Tanya Vodoryez) directly, preferably via email and mention that you are a CAAUK delegate. The reservation requires a credit card. She is on duty from 11am till 8pm GMT, Monday to Friday. (To qualify for the discount, delegates must have arrive on 22.02.13 and depart on 23.02.13)

Other nearby hotels include (without discount):

Hotel Ibis London City

Travelodge: London Central Aldgate East Hotel

 

Hostels

Another excellent way of staying overnight in London is to stay in a hostel. There are a few located nearby but there are others concentrated at London Bridge and Kings Cross. When looking for hostel accommodation, your best bet is to first check out popular search engines such as, although not limited to: hostels.com or hostelworld.com or hostelbookers.com.

The conference organisers have liaised with a hostel near the venue who have offered some discounts to CAAUK delegates. Eligibility for the discounts below is conditional upon providing proof of conference registration at check-in.

YHA London St Pauls

36 Carter Lane, London, EC4V 5AB
Tel: 0845 371 9012
Email: stpaulsmanager@yha.org.uk
Web:  www.yha.org.uk/hostel/london-st-pauls

Cost

Type of room: Single bed @ £22.95 per person/bed, per room, per night

Amenities

Breakfast is included in the cost of the room.

Reserve

To make a reservation please contact the office manager (Nadia Aoujdad) directly, preferably via email and mention that you are a CAAUK delegate to receive the discount.

Other nearby hostel options include (without a discount):

The Dictionary Hostel

St Christophers Inn

*Please note that the conference organisers provide this list for reference only. We hold no affiliation with these hotels and do not personally endorse or bear responsibility for the outcome of staying at any of them.

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Travel and Transport in London

CAAUK 2013 is being hosted by L – P : Archaeology at Corbet Place, The Old Truman Brewery, 15 Hanbury Street, London E1 6QL.

Corbet Place is actually a standalone building in the back (to the west) of the main Brewery complex. Your best bet is to access it via Hanbury Street and enter in the back of the Brewery on the access road running north-south from Wilkes Street. It’s next to the Truman Brewery Events Centre Reception and al Volo (the tasty Italian eatery)..

Get Here Map

Getting to the Old Truman Brewery is a cinch using London Transport! We are within walking distance of the City with several Rail stations, Tube stops and Bus Lines. Of course, you can always take a Boris Bike, as there are several docking stations nearby on Brick Lane, Commercial Street, and Bethnal Green Road.

Nearest Rail, Tube and Overground stops:

  • Shoreditch High Street (Overground) – 5 minute walk along Quaker Street and around the Brewery to Hanbury Street
  • Aldgate East (District, Hammersmith & City, Circle) – 10 minute walk up Osborn Street/Brick Lane to the Brewery
  • Liverpool Street Station (Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan, Circle, Central Line and Rail) – 10-15 minute walk up Bishopsgate through Old Spitalfields Market
  • Aldgate (Circle, Metropolitan) – 15-20 minute walk through Petty Coat Lane to Commercial Street over to Hanbury
  • Old Street Station (Northern) is also near, but is the furthest away from the venue at around a 20-25 minute walk.

Catch the Bus:

  • The 67 stops at Commercial Street/Elder Street, with a short walk to the Brewery via Hanbury Street.
  • The 135,149,242,26,344,35,388,42,47,48,78,8,N26,N35,N8, and many, many more buses stop on Bishopsgate with the nearest stop at either Commercial Street/Worship Street or Primrose Street. You can then walk well under 10 minutes through Old Spitalfields Market to get to the Brewery via Hanbury Street.
  • The 115,135,15,25,N15,N550 all stop at Aldgate East Station, with a lazy 10 minute walk up Osborn/Brick Lane to the Brewery.
  • The 100,115,135,15,205,25,254,40,42,67,78,N15,N253,N550,N551 all stop at St Botolph Street stop, near Aldgate Station (some of which continue on to Aldgate East Station- your closer stop). From St Botolph Street stop wind your way through Petty Coat Lane through to Commercial Street and up to the Brewery via Hanbury Street.
  • Worth noting, there are many more bus stops along Bethnal Green Road and Old Street station all within walking distance, if a little bit farther afield.

If in doubt – plug in your start point going towards our post code (E1 6QL) on Transport for London’s nifty web app at www.tfl.gov.uk.

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Keynote: Mark Lake discusses Open Archaeology

We are excited to confirm that Dr. Mark Lake (University College London) will be giving a keynote presentation at this year’s CAAUK. As guest editor of the recent issue of World Archaeology focusing on “Open Archaeology”, Dr. Lake will be discussing the issues raised during the collation of the issue and the wider questions surrounding an open approach to archaeology in general.

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