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| Study Area: Hadlyville Cemetery |
Introduction:
For the second activity the job at hand is to try and
recover all of the lost data from Hadlyville cemetery. In order for these
issues to be resolved, field work where data will be collected from all the
legible headstones is a necessary part of this activity. This will allow a map to be created representing Hadlyville cemetery.
What are the problems and challenges facing Hadlyville Cemetery?
- All the original records/maps have been lost
- Stones dating back to 1865 are difficult to read from either age, the headstone is broken or missing
- Burials with no identification marking.
Why is the loss of original maps and records a particular challenge for this project?
- The loss of these maps and records will be a major setback, because now there isn't any information that can help guide the project. It will also be difficult to retrieve some of the data belonging to certain grave sites because there will either be no headstone, or an aged headstone that will be hard to read.
How will GIS provide a solution to this problem?
- GIS is going to help through the use of GPS, the data collected by the systems will help categorize the attributes of each headstone such as; age, DOB, DOD, and where the grave site is located. This will allow the creation of a legible map that will be based on its current location so than it will be easier to locate who you are trying to find.
What makes this a GIS project, and not a simple map?
- Rather than just making a simple map, in this project there will also be data collection from the field and trying to identify where all of the missing grave sites are located and who is at that designated location.
What equipment are you going to use to gather the data needed to construct the GIS?
- The equipment that was used during this project was a notebook and pencil to take down notes and attributes of each grave site and headstone, as well as a survey grade handheld GPS device. This is what was used for most of the data collection, this made it possible to create a grid system and multiple track points so then the data will be properly collected.
What are the overall objectives of your proposal?
- Preserving community history by development of a detailed accurate map to define the grave sites of the cemetery
- Eliminate same grave sites to be sold by mistake to two people
- Identify as many stones and burials as possible and enter data
Methods:
What is the sampling technique you chose to use? Why?
- A grid system was decided on, the grid will be labeled in a certain manner where it will be both simple and easy to locate whichever grave site is being mentioned. The grid system will be built with both rows and columns, the rows will be labeled with letters A - Z to the extent of how many rows the cemetery has, and the columns will be labeled with numbers to the same extent as the rows. The first step while holding a GPS device students went around with a survey grade GPS first to take the perimeter of the entire cemetery, this is where there were five location pads placed around the perimeter of the cemetery. This allowed the students to map the cemetery as a whole and not just where the grave sites individually. Then the GPS device was used where the receiver was put on the grave site location right in front of the headstone and the location was accounted for. That process was used for as many grave sites that there was time for. The attribute data for each headstone was also collected on the GPS device manually. Whatever grave sites that weren't accounted for by the GPS device were recorded manually for both location of the grave site and all of the attribute data.
What is the accuracy of the equipment you are intending to use?
- The accuracy of the equipment that is being used is extremely accurate, this certain piece of equipment can set data points to within millimeters of the objects real world location.
How was the data entered/recorded? Why did you choose this data entry method?
- The data was entered either by hand or by the use of the survey grade GPS device, the GPS device was used to collect all of the attribute data for each headstone and link that attribute data with its real world location. When there wasn't enough time to collect all of the data through the use of that GPS device, the rest of the data was collected by hand. This is where all of the data on the headstone was written down in the notebook, as well as the location of the headstone in relation to objects around it so then it will be easy to find when making the map. This data entry method is best for this project because it will allow us to take the headstones real world location and connect that to its corresponding attribute data so then the final product will not only be legible but easy to find the desired grave site.
How will you transfer the data you gather into a GIS?
- The data collected by the handheld GPS device will be transferred onto the computer where it can be used in ArcMap, the data gathered by hand will be transferred onto an excel spreadsheet so than a data set can be created from that data and used in ArcMap with the data collected by the GPS.
What drawbacks are these to method your purpose?
- The main issue that was faced during this project was not the time restriction so then all of the data couldn't be collected on the survey grade GPS, which would have been ideal because it would have collected all of the data together and would have been easier to transfer it into ArcMap. Also about 50 percent of the gravestones were either so old they were unreadable, or they were missing entirely.
Conclusion:
How do your methods transfer to the overall objectives of your proposal?
- The methods that were used during this project completed all of the objectives that they were supposed to, all of the grave sites that had headstones that were either where they were supposed to be and/or readable were accounted for either through the use of the GPS or by hand. All of the information that was able to be collected was and will be linked with its corresponding location in the final product.
