Opti-CAl: Surveying equipment used to find US Civil War sites
A Georgia-based archaeologist is using GPS surveying equipment to track down lost artefacts from the American Civil War before they are lost to development.
Garrett Silliman, from Edwards-Pitman Environmental Inc. in Smyrna, Georgia, has been contracted to undertake a publicly-funded survey to identify battle sites from the brutal war and preserve, or at least excavate them.
The expansion of Atlanta - from a town of 10,000 in the 1860s at the time of the war, to a metropolis of 5.7 million now - is through to have already consumed a number of key locations. Silliman is hoping his work will spearhead a renewed interest in preserving the nation's battle heritage, to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the start of the war this year.
Using an array of surveying equipment - including global positioning systems, ground-penetrating radar, advanced metal detectors and precise mapping software - Silliman said he is able to draw up both geographical and historical maps.
"We can really create a good picture of what was happening even with a limited archaeological record," Mr. Silliman said.
Georgia saw some of the fiercest fighting of the four-year war, between the Union soldiers of the north and the Confederate army from the south. Silliman has found many bullets and buckles from the time of the war, with their exact positioning - when found - able to speak volumes about specific battles and military strategy.
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