Author Archives: Rebecca Phillipps

The geophysics team studied a 20m2 area on a terrace above the rock gardens under excavation. Geophysics is a non-intrusive survey technique that allows us to have a picture of what is underneath the ground without having to dig it … Continue reading →

Students and staff awoke to clear skies and the promise of a good days work ahead. Setup on site began early with the GPS base station being positioned and theodolite stations setup, ready for a day of garden and trench … Continue reading →

While booking a bus for 7.50am seems like a good idea a month ahead of time, it was not looked upon favourably once the first alarms were set to organise waking in time for it. Departing from Sky city bus … Continue reading →

We’re here on Great Mercury Island after months of planning. This morning we awoke to rain and travelled to Whitianga with no improvement to the precipitation or greyness. However as we approached Whitianga the rain stopped and the situation improved … Continue reading →

Before starting an archaeological fieldwork project it is important to research background information about the place. This includes having some understanding of geology, soil types, endemic vegetation and geomorphology. Researching previous archaeological work in the area is also important, including … Continue reading →

In December a group of us, including Professor Geoff Irwin, Professor Thegn Ladefoged, Dr Rod Wallace, Peter Johnston, Pete Johnston, Alex Jorgensen and myself, headed out to Great Mercury Island. While most of the group had visited the island before, … Continue reading →

It hardly seems like this year’s field school course has finished and we are back to organizing next year’s project. We will work in a new location next year, so there is a lot of preliminary organization to get on … Continue reading →