In September 2016 I volunteered on a dig on Skye with Dr Karen Hardy on a last minute whim and fell in love with Scotland so much so that I came back again last summer all the way from Canada. I was then lucky enough to find myself volunteering with Wessex Archaeology in Edinburgh learning and using GIS. It was a unique situation in that I was working on data from the Skye project while under the supervision of Wessex.
I learned a little about GIS when I was a student, but I was quite out of date and out of practice. I used QGIS so I could work on the project both at home and in the office and did a number of online tutorials to get to know the QGIS software better and give myself a head start. Wessex started me off with an overview of GIS theory and applications before I started with real data.
It was a steep learning curve, but Andrew Bicket was fantastic (and very patient!) in answering my many questions and giving me guidance as I worked through it all. By the end of the summer, I had started a data catalogue, created a location map for test pits, shovel pits, and boreholes, a contour map of the site, and a heat map of small finds. I also helped organize the data needed for Wessex to produce a 3D model and transects of the stratigraphy.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Wessex and I am very grateful for the chance to work on this project in such a supportive and knowledgeable environment. I now feel a lot more confident in my GIS skills going into the coming field season and am encouraged to continue down the path of digital archaeology in the future.
Thank you Wessex Edinburgh!
By Lili Kolaric