::: CAMEL allows archaeologists to survey ancient cities without digging in the dirt, disturbing sites

By William Harms
News Office

Like a dromedary that can travel a long distance without taking a drink of water, the Oriental Institute’s CAMEL computer project can traverse vast distances of ancient and modern space without pausing for the usual refreshment known best by archaeologists—digging in the soil.

CAMEL (the Center for Ancient Middle Eastern Landscapes) is at the leading edge of archaeology because of what it does not do and what it can do. First, it does not actually excavate. For a science based on the destructive removal of buried artifacts and an examination of them for meaning, CAMEL works in quite the opposite way: it aims to survey ancient sites and disturb them as little as possible.                   ...MORE