RCAHMS and the Volcano

15 April 2010

A volcanic eruption beneath the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier in Iceland was photographed by RCAHMS aerial survey programme manager Dave Cowley during an international archaeology symposium at the end of March.

A second eruption in the same area this week has caused massive disruption to UK and European air traffic.

On 26 March, while on a field trip flight that formed part of the archaeology conference, Dave Cowley took the opportunity to capture the volcano from the air.

The volcano, which had been dormant for over 200 years, had erupted on 20 March sending lava a hundred metres high and opening a 1km-long fissure in the ice field. Iceland lies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the highly volatile boundary between the Eurasian and North American continental plates, which makes quakes and eruptions a constant risk.

This week’s eruption has released a huge body of ash particles into the high atmosphere over northern Europe, presenting a serious risk to aircraft engines. The current airspace and flight restrictions are thought to be the most significant in living memory.

Dave Cowley was attending a symposium on remote sensing techniques in archaeological heritage management – which he co-organised with Kristín Huld Sigurðardóttir of the Archaeological Heritage Agency of Iceland – in Rekjavik between 25 and 27 March. The conference aim was to explore the value of new technologies set alongside established practice in approaches to large-scale mapping, the monitoring and management of monument conditions, and the creation of reliable monuments records.

Delegates came from over 22 European countries, from Greenland and Finland, to Albania and Italy.

Highlighting the importance of the symposium, Dave Cowley said ‘By sharing experiences and knowledge, European archaeologists and heritage managers can develop best practice in their own countries, learning relevant lessons from colleagues in other countries and applying approaches that best suit their own areas. Key to this is understanding how we know what we know, and how this can be applied to managing a shared European past’.