Documentation for challenging Palaeolithic excavations: digital solutions at MSA site of GOT-10 (Southern Ethiopia)

Excavating Palaeolithic sites in Africa may present several challenges, including political instability, limited excavation time, logistical constraints, and environmental factors such as erosion, which strongly affect the state of preservation. This is particularly true for open-air sites, which require not only traditional site documentation - e.g., documenting the position and extension of archaeological layers - but also detailed surveys of physical changes due to erosion over time. These complexities demand adaptable and efficient approaches to field documentation, especially in remote and demanding contexts. Here, we present a study focused on the GOT-10 site, a Middle Stone Age (MSA) open-air occupation located in a modern savannah environment in southern Ethiopia (Fusco et al. in press). GOT-10 is particularly relevant for addressing the mentioned issues, as its preservation is strongly affected by yearly erosional phenomena. To manage this complexity, we have developed an integrated documentation workflow specifically tailored to the site’s conditions. The workflow incorporates the use of mobile devices for quick and precise data collection. In recent years, several studies have highlighted the advantages of such tools for field documentation, such as those by Montagnetti and Guarino 2021 and Paukkonen 2023. These devices offer portability and user-friendliness, making them invaluable for both excavation and survey tasks. These tools ensure efficient data recording even under logistical constraints, while digital models captured in the field support detailed analyses during post-excavation processes. This poster will detail the design and implementation of our data collection methods, demonstrating their practicality and effectiveness in the challenging yet archaeologically significant environment of the GOT-10 site.