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Matthew Harrison

I completed a BA in Archaeology and Anthropology at University of Cambridge in 2007. I then worked in commercial archaeology before beginning a masters in Archaeological Computing at the University of Southampton in 2010. I am now undertaking a PhD with the ACRG focussing on the visualisation and analysis of medieval Cairo, with particular emphasis on simulating movement, visibility and acoustics. My research interests include procedural modelling, visualisation of ancient cities, the visualisation of uncertainty in archaeological reconstructions, medieval and Roman urbanism, the archaeology of early Christianity and Islam.

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Visualising an Uncertain Past: Procedural Modelling at Portus

Positioned between the two harbours of Portus, Rome’s Imperial port, once stood an enormous building built on massive concrete piers. The vestiges of this structure (“building five”) were visible above ground when I visited the site for the first time in 2011, my first season working on the Portus Project. Remains were dotted across the site, often masked by overgrowth, some incorporated into the standing remains of the Late Antique city wall. Continue reading →

Virtually Reconstructing Musical Numbers: The Modeller’s Perspective

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to get involved in a unique inter-disciplinary project, one that has taken me outside of my usual research area, as part of the SotonDH small grants. The project is a collaboration with Beth Carroll, who for her film studies PhD thesis is analysing the genre of musicals – specifically the phenomenon of the ‘musical number’. Continue reading →

PGRAS 2013 – Post-Symposium Reflections

I am pleased to say that the Postgraduate Research Archaeology Symposium 2013 was a great success! Not only was there a great set of presentations from our PGR students, but also a great turn out of students and staff to hear them present. Post-presentation discussion was lively and constructive, and cake-fueled coffee breaks were filled with conversations about interesting cross-overs between different people’s research. Continue reading →

PGRAS Charity Book & Cake Sale

Every year the Post-graduate Research Archaeology Symposium (23rd-24th May) has a second-hand book sale and cake sale to raise money for charity. In the last three years, we have commemorated loved ones by raising a total of £750 for Glencoe Mountain Rescue, the Mexican Association for the Fight Against Cancer, and Action on Addiction. This year, the collection is (fortunately!) not as personal as it has been in previous years. Continue reading →

Call for Papers

Hi all, the call for papers for PGRAS 2013 is out now - check it out. PGRAS is a two day symposium that allows research students to share their ideas and get valuable feedback from staff and students. We hope you will enjoy this year’s event and make the most of the opportunity to discuss your work. All full time PhD students are obliged to present, part time students are expected to present every other year. Continue reading →

Seeing in a New Light – Archaeological Computing Research Group Seminar

Speaker: Sally Ford Location: Digital Archaeology Lab, Building 65a, Avenue Campus, Southampton Date: 26.10.2012, 2-3pm This Friday is the first ACRG seminar of the term, and we welcome all students and staff to attend. Seeing in a new light: How can polynomial texture mapping help record forensic investigations of cremations? Polynomial texture mapping is an image capture and processing technique used to record and represent details from a surface. Continue reading →