Nikon SLR Camera, ca. 1971-80

Flowerdew Hundred fort area, l-r, Lefty Gregory, Jim Miller, and unid. excavator

William and Mary students document a feature at the fort site, ca. 1974

William and Mary students document hearth feature at fort site, ca. 1974

Field school students stand on a platform to take a plan view photo of feature at the fort site, ca. 1974

Going to great lengths to get a good picture of a feature, date unknown

Capturing the action on video, date unknown

Archaeologists must record the exact location of all of the artifacts and features on a site--once a site has been excavated, it is gone forever.  In the 1970s and 1980s archaeologists relied on paper records and film cameras to document sites.

Today digital cameras offer the advantage of checking photos while still in the field. Archaeologists will go to great--and sometimes dangerous--lengths to get good photos. Sun exposure and particularly large features pose challenges to capturing good record shots. Archaeologists at Flowerdew Hundred recorded the process of excavation with video cameras, which is not typically done in the field today.