I write about technology and its uses in the varied world of heritage, from 3D scanning prehistoric petroglyphs to the use of ChatGPT in museums and archives.
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My Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) Installation – Part 1
When I first moved to Penzance in January 2012, BT Openreach’s fibre rollout was already well underway in Cornwall. The Penzance exchange was due to be enabled that May, and in my mind I thought that a few months would be well worth the wait. Well, it turned out to be more than a few…
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Latest Cornwall Archaeological Society newsletter features the Gulval Evangelists
The latest issue of the Cornwall Archaeological Society newsletter (no. 133) arrived in the post today. I opened the envelope only to spot my work on the front page. For me this is definitely an honour!
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Reprocessing the St John the Evangelist data from Gulval
Since first posting about the images of the Four Evangelists found on the medieval cross-base at Gulval Church, I have been striving to produce clearer images of each saint for inclusion in a publication. The image will only ever be as good as the condition of the stone allows, but it is possible to wring…
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A Medieval Discovery at Gulval Church, Cornwall
[Update] This work has now been published with Prof. Michelle Brown in British Archaeology. Just to the left of the south porch of Gulval Church, near Penzance in Cornwall, lies a large block of granite. I first came across it on a visit to the churchyard in 2012. However, it really piqued my interest a…
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Synology DS713+ DiskStation Review
The Synology DS713+ is a great product. This review is written from the point of view of someone who owns one, and has used it for a couple of months.
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San Pedro de Atacama
Here are some fun photos taken on my phone from around San Pedro de Atacama. The town is built mainly in adobe, which is effectively a mixture of clay-rich soil, straw, and sand. This is often mixed with stones, and walls are then rendered with a clay slip to finish and protect them. Adobe isn’t…
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Adventures in Chile: The El Taito geysers
I’m typing this sitting in a pleasant 26C heat by a swimming pool. The UV meter outside the (rather excellent) archaeology museum here in San Pedro de Atacama is recommending people of pale complexions to stay out of the sun. Since I currently resemble something akin to a freckled ghost, I’m doing just that. Some…
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Adventures in Chile – Valle de la Luna
Imagine a landscape that is so barren, so alien, yet beautiful in its many forms. Shiny rock salt crystals glint and shine as the sun lowers in the sky. Small cave systems, organically shaped by water millennia ago, meander through gorges. This is Valle de la Luna, or Moon Valley, situated in the north of…