Open Source Mapping, GIS and technology in Archaeology
The toobar has been updated and now allows you to listen to the latest archaeology news from the BAJR/Stonepages Podcasts while you browse.
Simply download and install the toolbar and it will be automatically refreshed with the lastest archaeology news and jobs.
After rewriting the map so that it could handle layers more efficiently, I thought I’d blog an example of how to use it.
In this example, I’m going to add 2 layers, each with a KML file containing data from distinct data sources. The Urls for the data are as follows:
First, open the map in a browser, preferebly Firefox. Click ‘Layers’ in the left hand side. Enter the first KML file and click ‘Load KML’. You should see something like the screen below:
Notice how the layer has been added with a checkbox and delete icon. You can toggle this layer on and off, or simply delete it and start again.
Now load the second KML file and click ‘Load KML’. You should see something like the screen below:
Finally, you should see something like this on the map:
This method is very good for merging small datasets in KML format.
The map has had a major overhaul which includes a lot of new functionality. The reasons for the overhaul were: a lot of the files were bloated, which caused slow download speeds; the interface was a little sloppy; there was limited area for extensions in the old system.
So, what’s new?
What’s in the pipeline?
Now that the map has a solid base I will be adding more tools and data over the coming weeks and months.
I just finished off adding an archaeology video catalogue to Online Archaeology. The catalogue is categorised and tagged so it’s easy to search for videos. All videos are hand picked from either YouTube or Google Video.
Registered members can add their own videos which will be moderated.
Watch out for some GIS videos in the new year as well as plenty of practical archaeology videos.
I’ll also be releasing some tutorials on video to explain some of the functionality of Online Archaeology so it’s easier for members to update the content.
I just discovered that PAS (Portable Antiquities Scheme) Celtic Coins Index have opened up a basic API to search their data and return spatial results - great stuff!
You can now see this data on the Online Archaeology map:
This will load all coins in the same county as the clicked item. You can then click on any of the new markers to see the details of the Celtic Coins in the county.
With information coming in thick and fast from all directions, I thought about providing a means to display it in a format that other people can easily access.
Anyone can now download the new Archaeology Toolbar:
Join the Online Archaeology Community and receive the latest archaeology news directly to your browser!
At last the UK can use some of the great features of the Google AJAX Search API. This has been around for a long time in the US and other countries.
Here’s the official release from Google.
This feature has been added to the Online Archaeology Map.
Online Archaeology will continue to add more features as they become available.
There are now a huge number of RSS feeds available for archaeology. This is great if you have time to find them and have a FeedReader to read them all. There’s a categorised list of archaeology-related RSS feeds here and if you are registered on Online Archaeology you can add as many as you like to the collection.
There’s also an aggregated feed here. This summarises a number of archaeology-related RSS feeds into one, which you can then subscribe to.
Finally, there’s the Online Archaeology Feed Reader which has a number of feeds available to read in one place. If you are logged into Online Archaeology you can also add as many feeds as you like and subscribe to each to receive an email when the feed has been updated.
The ability to subscribe to all this kind of news set me thinking. I’d actually prefer to be notified by email when something has been updated, rather than to actively keep searching for it. That’s why I wrote a small component that will do just that.
Any registered member of Online Archaeology can build their own collection of RSS feeds and be notified by email of any updates. This service is available here (you must be logged in to use it).
View the Online Archaeology Map
Click on the 
icon to open up the layers toggle. As you can see, the Wikipedia layer is shown by default. Check and uncheck the Nabonidus checkbox to toggle the Nabonidus layer. The layer contains all archaeology sites held in the Nabonidus system.
More to come soon from Nabonidus and Online Archaeology…
I’ve added a Wikipedia article layer to the map.
It loads a limited number of points within the current viewport and reloads when you zoom in or move the map. The layer is on by default but you can toggle it if you follow the instructions here:
http://www.online-archaeology.co.uk/wordpress/
You can see the Online Archaeology Map here:
http://www.online-archaeology.co.uk/GoogleMap/Default.aspx
This is the first of a series of layered external information on the Online Archaeology Map, more coming soon….
