The Ground-Penetrating Radar Track introduces participants to the scientific principles, field methods, analytical workflows, and interpretive limitations of GPR in archaeological research. Participants work within Old Cahawba’s Historic Downtown, where former streets and town lots preserve buried traces of Alabama’s first capital and the river town that developed around it. This complex archaeological setting provides an opportunity to investigate possible structural remains, landscape features, and areas of subsurface disturbance without immediately resorting to excavation.

Led by experienced geophysical survey specialists, participants progress through the complete survey process—from developing research questions and designing a grid to collecting, processing, visualizing, and interpreting radar data. The track emphasizes the responsible integration of geophysical results with historic maps, surface evidence, excavation data, and other archaeological sources.

Participants receive instruction and supervised practice in:

• GPR fundamentals: Electromagnetic-wave transmission, reflection, attenuation, and the material contrasts that produce subsurface anomalies

• Survey design: Research questions, grid placement, coordinate control, transect spacing, system configuration, and survey-wheel calibration

• Field operation: Equipment setup, systematic data collection, field notes, quality-control procedures, and troubleshooting

• Data processing: Reviewing raw profiles and applying appropriate corrections, gains, filters, and other processing steps

• Visualization: Producing and evaluating radar profiles, plan-view depth slices, and other outputs used in archaeological interpretation

• Interpretation: Distinguishing potentially significant anomalies from background variation, modern disturbance, and processing artifacts

• Site assessment: Evaluating how soil composition, moisture, surface conditions, target size, depth, and orientation affect survey results

• Archaeological integration: Comparing geophysical anomalies with maps, historical records, surface features, and excavation results while avoiding unsupported conclusions

This track is ideal for participants interested in archaeological remote sensing and non-invasive investigation. Students leave with practical experience in the GPR workflow, a realistic understanding of the method’s capabilities and limitations, and a strong foundation for additional supervised work in geophysical survey.

The Geographic Information Systems Track provides a practical, field-to-finish introduction to archaeological mapping, spatial data management, and basic analysis. Working in both laboratory and field settings at Old Cahawba, participants learn how spatial information supports archaeological survey, excavation, cultural resource management, preservation planning, and public interpretation.

Students apply GIS methods to the complex landscape of Alabama’s first state capital, where historic streets, town lots, archaeological sites, cemeteries, environmental features, and modern infrastructure must be accurately documented and managed. Participants gain experience collecting new field data, integrating it with existing maps and records, evaluating its accuracy, and transforming it into clear, professional map products.

Instruction and supervised practice include:

• GIS fundamentals: Vector and raster data, layers, attribute tables, scale, resolution, and archaeological and environmental applications

• Coordinate systems and data quality: Datums, projections, accuracy, precision, metadata, and the importance of consistent spatial reference systems

• ArcGIS workflows: Introductory use of ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, and mobile data-collection tools

• Field data collection: Operating a handheld Garmin GPS receiver, a GPS-enabled data-collection tablet, and a survey-grade GNSS base-and-rover system

• Spatial data management: Creating and editing datasets, organizing attribute information, maintaining geodatabases, and conducting quality-control checks

• Mapping and analysis: Querying data, measuring distances and areas, examining spatial relationships, and performing basic overlay and distribution analyses

• Cartographic production: Applying appropriate symbology, labels, legends, scale information, and layout principles to create clear professional maps

• Data integration: Combining field observations with aerial imagery, historic maps, environmental datasets, and archaeological records

GIS is one of the most widely requested technical skills in contemporary CRM. This track is ideal for students, archaeologists, and other cultural-resource professionals who want to understand the complete spatial-data workflow and gain practical experience with equipment and software used in professional archaeological projects.

The Photogrammetry Track introduces participants to Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry as a method for creating accurate, measurable, and visually detailed records of cultural resources. Working in Old Cahawba’s field and laboratory settings, students document historic monuments, headstones, architectural elements, and archaeological artifacts before processing their photographs into scaled, high-resolution 3D models with Agisoft Metashape.

Old Cahawba provides an exceptional setting for this training. Its cemeteries, archaeological collections, and surviving historic features represent multiple generations of the community and present varied documentation challenges, including weathered surfaces, fragile materials, complex shapes, changing light, and restricted physical access. Participants learn to design documentation strategies appropriate to each subject while recognizing that digital models support—but do not replace—physical conservation and responsible stewardship.

Instruction and supervised practice include:

• Project planning: Defining research and preservation goals, selecting appropriate subjects, and determining the required scale, resolution, and final products

• Photographic documentation: Camera settings, focus, depth of field, image overlap, systematic coverage, lighting, and strategies for difficult surfaces

• Scale and control: Using scale bars, coded targets, reference measurements, and photographic logs to produce reliable and repeatable datasets

• Field and laboratory recording: Documenting monuments and headstones in cemetery settings and photographing artifacts under controlled conditions

• Agisoft Metashape workflows: Image alignment, camera optimization, depth-map and point-cloud generation, mesh construction, texturing, scaling, and export

• Quality control: Identifying gaps, distortion, alignment errors, excessive noise, and other problems that can reduce a model’s accuracy or usefulness

• Digital-data management: File naming, metadata, backups, model cleanup, appropriate export formats, and preparation for long-term preservation

• Research and interpretation: Using 3D models for condition assessment, comparative analysis, measurement, visualization, education, and public interpretation

• Ethical digital practice: Considering cultural sensitivity, ownership, access, privacy, attribution, and the responsibilities associated with publishing heritage data online

This track is ideal for students and professionals interested in digital archaeology, conservation, museum work, cultural resource management, or public interpretation. Participants leave with experience completing the full photogrammetric workflow and a strong foundation for producing responsible digital documentation in professional heritage settings.

The Cemetery Preservation and Documentation Track introduces participants to the legal, ethical, technical, and community-centered practices required to care for historic burial grounds. Working under professional supervision in Old Cahawba’s cemeteries, students learn to document burial landscapes, assess monument conditions, and—when appropriate—clean and undertake limited stabilization of headstones using conservation-compatible methods.

Old Cahawba’s burial grounds preserve the histories of individuals, families, and communities connected to the former state capital and the town that followed it. Participants examine cemeteries as cultural landscapes shaped by monuments, spatial organization, vegetation, pathways, boundaries, family relationships, religious traditions, and changing commemorative practices. The track emphasizes respect for the deceased, descendant communities, and the continued cultural significance of burial places.

Instruction and supervised practice include:

• Cemetery law and ethics: Applicable burial laws, ownership and access, permissions, professional conduct, cultural sensitivity, and responsibilities to descendants and affiliated communities

• Landscape documentation: Recording cemetery boundaries, grave locations, monuments, pathways, fences, vegetation, and other contributing features

• Condition assessment: Identifying structural instability, biological growth, surface loss, cracking, displacement, previous repairs, and other forms of deterioration

• Material identification: Recognizing stone, concrete, brick, metal, and other monument materials and understanding how each responds to weathering and treatment

• Headstone cleaning: Selecting appropriate tools and conservation-compatible cleaning methods while avoiding damaging chemicals, coatings, and abrasive techniques

• Stabilization principles: Applying minimum-intervention practices, recognizing the limits of field treatment, and determining when specialized conservators are required

• Professional documentation: Preparing condition forms, photographic records, maps, treatment logs, and recommendations for continued monitoring

• Preservation planning: Establishing priorities, treatment phases, maintenance schedules, budgets, risk-reduction strategies, and long-term stewardship goals

• Community interpretation: Presenting cemetery history respectfully and incorporating cultural memory, archival research, and community knowledge into interpretation

The track focuses on non-invasive, above-ground documentation and preservation; it does not involve the excavation or disturbance of human remains. It is well suited to students and professionals interested in cemetery stewardship, historic preservation, public history, cultural-resource management, heritage tourism, or descendant-community engagement. Participants leave with practical experience and an ethical framework for developing responsible, sustainable preservation programs for historic burial places.