Archaeological
Research
Archaeology observes the traces left by processes that can no longer be observed directly. The problem is therefore one of reconstruction: from material evidence toward the processes that produced it.
The archaeological record is a transformed signal.
Objects, deposits, surfaces and spatial arrangements are not the past itself. They are observations produced by past activity and subsequently modified by further processes.
Activity
People, animals, environments and other processes interact through time and generate physical consequences.
Trace
Those consequences persist unevenly. Formation, disturbance and decay transform the original signal.
Inference
Archaeological explanation works backwards from observations toward plausible generating processes.
From archaeological trace to testable reconstruction.
The objective is not simply to produce a plausible narrative. A reconstruction should expose assumptions, represent uncertainty and generate expectations that can be tested against evidence.
Current directions
These areas can eventually become populated directly from the corresponding WordPress categories and research posts.
Lithics and technological processes
Reconstructing actions and technological processes from the morphology, distribution and transformation of archaeological materials.
Research → Spatial archaeologyLandscapes as process records
Treating spatial distributions and landscape modifications as records of interacting processes rather than static arrangements.
Research → Signal scienceArchaeology as an inverse problem
Formalising the relationship between generating processes, observable signals, transformation and reconstruction.
Research → ComputationAI and archaeological inference
Using machine learning, spatial modelling and data science where they improve the representation and testing of archaeological hypotheses.
Research →Archaeology-related writing
This section is the eventual bridge between the designed landing page and the existing WordPress post system.
An Ancient Method for a New Science
Theoretical foundations for a scientific approach to archaeological inference.
Archaeological inference as signal reconstruction
Conference research connecting archaeological traces with signal and inverse-problem concepts.
Developing computational methods for archaeology
Research notes on data, modelling, machine learning and archaeological evidence.
The computational layer comes after the archaeological problem.
Archaeology first
Computational methods are useful when they represent something archaeologically meaningful. The research problem determines the appropriate mathematical or computational representation.
Science as constraint
Models should make claims explicit enough to be challenged by evidence.
- State the generating-process hypothesis.
- Represent the expected archaeological signal.
- Model transformation and uncertainty.
- Generate predictions that could fail.
The archaeological record is not merely what survives. It is what remains after a history of processes has acted upon it.
- What Streedagh Still Holds
The Galeón Andalucía in Sligo, June 30th 2026 Article modified to correct errors on mass and scale in the first version. This research is ongoing! Four hundred and thirty-eight years ago, three ships of the Levant squadron drove ashore at Streedagh — in the same autumn that opened what a contemporary would call the Fifteen… Read more: What Streedagh Still Holds - Digging in the Wrong Place
Indiana: Balloq’s medallion only had writing on one side? You sure about that? Sallah: Positive!Indiana: Balloq’s staff is too long.Indiana, Sallah: They’re digging in the wrong place! There is a particular conversation you only have while leaning on a shovel. In the rain. Up to your ankles in water and mud. Mine happened years ago,… Read more: Digging in the Wrong Place - Bulmer Hobson: The Revolutionary Who Survived to Imagine a Different Ireland
Dylan Foley Words:19054 Time to read:50 minutes Introduction On Good Friday 1916, Bulmer Hobson found himself in an absurd and bitter predicament. His own comrades in the Irish Republican Brotherhood—men he had recruited, trained, and worked alongside for over a decade—kidnapped him and held him captive in a house in the Dublin suburbs. They weren’t… Read more: Bulmer Hobson: The Revolutionary Who Survived to Imagine a Different Ireland - The Archaeological Peninsula: Sligo’s Development Constraints and Planning Crisis!DOCTYPE html> Sacred Ground, Modern City Planning Within Ancient Landscapes Article 1 of 7 Archaeological Constraints • UNESCO Heritage • Urban Planning • Neolithic Landscape How one of Ireland’s most significant Neolithic landscapes is reshaping urban planning in the 21st century Sligo town occupies one of the most archaeologically constrained urban environments in Europe. As… Read more: The Archaeological Peninsula: Sligo’s Development Constraints and Planning Crisis
- The Demolition of 39 High StreetThe council and the preservation laws are facilitating, albeit inadvertently, the steady loss of the old town urban fabric. Many iconic shop fronts, residential and industrial buildings, cobbled streets, mills and weirs, have been lost over the years, a legacy that does not seem to be changing.
Articles
Connections:
- Applies principles from → Foundation
- Uses frameworks from → Signal Science
- Informs practical constraints for → Engineering & Design