AR01042_WODAN_Final_Report_10.pdf - The Heritage Council

Principal investigator
Ingelise Stuijts
Research assistants
Lorna O’Donnell
Amy Bunce
Project partners
Robert Shaw
Anthony Corns
Aoife Kane
Kathleen O’Sullivan
Otto Brinkkemper
John Mc Auley
Mary Dillon
Ellen O’Carroll
Scott Timpany
Cathy Moore
Adrienne Corless
Conor Mc Dermott
Robert Sands
Susan Lyons
Aidan O’Sullivan
Discussion partners
Birthe Stuijts
Caroline Vermeeren
Kirsti Hänninen
Laura Kooistra
Pauline Van Rijn
Mitchell Power
Oliver Nelle
Koen Deforce
Jaromir Benes
Vincent Bernard
Peter Hambro Mikkelsen
Philip Buckland
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Page
1 Introduction ……………….……………..……………………………………………7
2 Aims ………………..………………….……………………………………………...13
3 Methodology ……………………………………………………………………...15
4 Tulsk case study ………….………………….……………………………………..23
5 Sustainability model …………………………………..……………………………29
6 Outreach and publication plan …………………..………..………………………..38
7 Dissemination ………..…………………………………………………………….39
8 Licensing …………….………………………...……………………………………43
9 Aims for the future …..…………………………..…………………………………..50
10 Conclusions ……………………………….…………………………………….51
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Illustrations
Tables
Table 1
Query 1- Tulsk data
Figures
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9
Entry page of the WODAN database
Character and growth page of fragment level
Query interface of the database
MyWODAN
Fragment count of charcoal from Tulsk
S3590, flot fragment count
S3590, weight of flot fragments
S3590 Retent fragment count
S3590 Weight of fragments in retent.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Heritage Council and the Discovery Programme for the chance to
work on this project. We would also like to thank all the project and discussion partners for their
extremely valuable input into the WODAN database.
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Executive summary
WODAN is an integrated on-line wood and charcoal database that can be used for archaeological
and biological studies and investigations in Ireland and beyond. It will serve both as a digital
archive and a powerful tool for scientific research for environmental analysis both within Ireland
and Internationally. For the first time, this database will allow specialists and non-specialists alike
to search and query charcoal and wood results from excavations in Ireland and beyond.
The development of an on-line database application is a fundamental departure from other
environmental databases. It makes the catchment area of the database far greater than any
previously designed environmental database. At all times there will only be one, central, updated
version available. It was designed with all known methods of charcoal and wood analysis in mind,
in order to enable as many people as possible to use it.
The database was developed in two stages. Firstly a prototype (alpha product), that served as a
test bed for demonstration, amendment and refinement was developed. During this period, the
team concentrated on implementing many advanced features that help to illustrate the
capabilities of our approach. The second, or beta phase, involved stabilizing the system and
ensuring that that overall user experience was successful.
The development of the WODAN database and web application has all been carried out using
free open source software. The content or data component of the WODAN resides in a MySQL
relational database whose schema is based upon the standardised fields. The construction of the
web interface to access the WODAN database is carried out using several components including
Ruby on Rails (RoR), CSS and HTML
Most commercial archaeological companies, universities and research institutions in Ireland are
keen to use the WODAN database as a permanent digital archive of their wood and charcoal
results from Irish excavations. Almost all specialists who have worked on Irish material are
currently entering data into WODAN. 24 profiles have been created. Over 370 sites have been
added, including approximately 1500 charcoal and 1000 wood samples.
The scope for synthesis is immense. The database will be used as a springboard for
environmental research. The wide ranging scope and nature of the data collection will mean that
it will be possible to address important questions on the nature of woodland throughout Ireland’s
history.
Standardization of methods was one of the key aims of the WODAN project. This has been
achieved through the development of database fields through numerous discussions and
workshops. As a result, all specialists working in Ireland currently use the same recording sheets
and methods.
An international element has been added with wood and charcoal specialists from England,
Belgium, Holland, France, Germany, Australia and America, all of whom have played an active
role in the creation of the database.
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1 Introduction
1.1 Knowledge context.
The WODAN database has been a three year programme funded by the Heritage Council through
its INSTAR grant scheme.
During the Celtic Tiger in Ireland, the level of developments (residential and infrastructural) rose
to unprecedented levels. Concurrently, the amount of commercial archaeology rose equally
steeply. This led to a similar vast increase in the level of environmental data generated from
excavations. The environmental data takes on many forms such as pollen, coleopteran, plant
remains, wood and charcoal. One of the most commonly found ecofat on Irish archaeological
sites is charcoal. It will be found in most contexts, whereas the preservation of waterlogged wood,
plant remains, pollen and beetle remains are more dependant on the soil conditions.
In 2007, seeing this volume of data being produced, wood and charcoal specialists came together
in Ireland to form the Irish Wood Anatomists Association (IWAA). The IWAA realized the need
for communication, dissemination and collaboration of their results to each other and to the
public at large. One of issues raised during the meetings was the archive of environmental work.
Each of the specialists had different methods to store their results. Some used paper copies; some
excel sheets, some databases (access). The IWAA freely shared information between members
which facilitated easy comparison of results form similar site types and periods. It was felt that
this was needed to be completed in a more standardized format. The need for a digital archive
was clear, how, when and where were the unanswered questions.
The possibility of the Discovery Programme building an environmental database was raised, but
due to funding it was not possible. In 2008, Dr. Ingelise Stuijts applied for funding to build a
database to hold wood and charcoal information through a new grant scheme (INSTAR) funded
by the Heritage Council.
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Due to the nature of the funding, a three step plan was envisaged for the creation of the database.
1. Phase 1 (2008)-design stage of the project, scoping out the possibilities of the database
and designing a prototype.
2. Phase 2 (2009) - creation of the database.
3. Phase 3 (2010) –further design and maintenance of the database.
1.2 Phase 1 2008.
Funding was received in 2008 and so the team could be assembled. The project office was based
in the Discovery Programme where the Principal Investigator Dr. Ingelise Stuijts is employed.
Anthony Corns, Robert Shaw and John Mc Auley took on the role of designing the database.
Lorna O’Donnell and Susan Lyons were hired as research assistants.
One of the first enterprises of the essentially ‘scoping out’ phase of Year 1 was to assess the level
of interest and consent that the database may achieve from its target audience.
The database design had the full support of the IWAA, who came on board as discussion partners.
Through surveys, it was ascertained that most of the commercial archaeological companies and
individual archaeologists were also willing to collaborate on the project. The university and state
run sector were similarly supportive. An international dimension to the work was lent by various
European discussion partners, including Biax Consult, Oliver Nelle and Otto Brinkkemper.
An insight into just how large an influence the boom years had on environmental archaeology
was demonstrated by a survey of published and unpublished charcoal and wood results in Ireland.
This showed that material had been identified from over 900 sites including almost 25, 000 wood
samples and almost 4,000 charcoal samples.
Information was collated on the requirements people have of the database and the nature of the
output they would like. This provided a basis for recording wood and charcoal from Ireland in the
future. Based on this data, a prototype wood database was built.
The need for standardization was flagged early in the WODAN project and formed an important
focus of Phase 1.
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1.3 Phase 2 2009.
In Phase 2, the WODAN integrated wood and charcoal database was built. Particular principals
were adhered to in the building of the database:
• Full involvement with the user community for the standardized inclusion of their own
data into WODAN.
• Developed using open source software and principles.
• Online availability of both data and analysis tools.
In order to maximize the potential of the database it was integral to develop queries which could
effectively deal with the vast amount of data present and effectively ‘turn data into knowledge’.
Two workshops (one International and one Irish) introduced the prototype database to the
specialists and gave people an opportunity to use the database. This led to crucial feedback from
the intended user community, which was subsequently used to change some of the structure and
fields of the database. Standardizing methodologies was an important thread that linked through
the database development in 2009. The workshops were very effectively used to formalize the
standards that would be adhered to in Irish archaeology in the future. In this respect, Ireland is
one of the first countries in the world to develop and agree to this standardized methodology for
charcoal and wood analysis and thereby is at the forefront of international development of this
discipline.
The development of MyWODAN (a personal archive on the website which displays each user’s
results) meant that each specialist will have instant access to their own research. The content of
MyWODAN also acts as an effective CV for wood specialists, providing visible evidence of all
the excavations they have worked on.
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1.4 Phase 3 2010.
The focus in the 2010 phase of the project was to eliminate bugs within the software and populate
the database and develop a synthesis publication plan.
1.4.1 Further development and maintenance of the database (Figure 1)
The majority of database work has, to date, focussed on integrating the wood and charcoal
databases into a single structure. While a query interface has been implemented, there are still
amendments required to refine the advanced query builder.
The profiles have now been fully integrated, each WODAN member has their own profile, and a
permission structure has been set in place to encourage commitment for the WODAN members
yet provide access to the general public.
Google map integration, providing the ability to browse and define a query by interfacing with
the map, is still ongoing, but the initial mapping interface has been implemented.
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Figure 1 Entry page of the WODAN database
1.4.2 Population of the database
The key Irish wood and charcoal specialists now have their own, personal profiles and are
currently entering their wood and charcoal data including Dr. Ingelise Stuijts, Ellen O’Carroll,
Lorna O’Donnell, Susan Lyons, Mary Dillon, Dr. Scott Timpany, Phil Austin and Dr. Anne
Crone. Two part time research positions were created to input data into the database. We have
created browsing profiles for some environmentalists who are keen to collaborate with us in the
future.
A profile has been created for the Heritage council to allow browsing of WODAN database.
2 Aims
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The essential aim of the project was to design a database that would be a trusted digital repository
for wood and charcoal data (both biological and archaeological).
1. The main aim of the project is to establish an online database to store published and
unpublished data (when accessible). This will be updated by the user community through
input of their own results, thus in effect creating an online archive.
2. The online database is constructed with an associated web application which provides
tools for the systematic inputting of data, and a series of tools to query and browse both
your own and the user community data.
3. A further aim is to use the WODAN project to standardise methodologies, storage of data
and presentation of results within the IWAA. On-going workshops, meetings and
demonstrations of the database are facilitating this. Standardisation will eventually lead to
better comparison of data and easier data entry into WODAN.
4. Only one version of the WODAN database (excluding backup data) will be utilised to
supply centralised access via the web to all users, eliminating the problems of data
versioning and data replication.
5. The online nature of the WODAN database is a new departure for environmental
databases. This allows people to input their results anytime, anywhere.
6. The MyWODAN facility provides a summary of each specialists own sites and their own
access policy.
7. The queries (particularly the query builder) will allow specialists to deal effectively with
their thousands of identifications. This will be particularly valuable when answering
research questions and enhancing publications for large infrastructural developments.
8. The WODAN database will provide the ability for the first time for specialists to query
each others results thereby uniting all the work and identifications that were completed in
Ireland during the boom years.
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9. We aim to establish the needs for the future to input all data from the Celtic Tiger years
by noting how much time it takes for data entry, for example data entry speed and
preparing metadata for entry.
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3 Methodology
3.1 Database Development
This phase of development aimed to finalize several design decisions and to ensure the stability
of the overall system. Thus, much of the effort was concentrated on optimizing and stabilizing
the system. The queries and mapping interfaces were further enhanced, and a degree of
international support was implemented to allow for the addition of non-Irish wood and charcoal
sites. While the initial design sought to approach both wood and charcoal as separate entities, this
round of development integrated both the wood and charcoal schemas into a single coordinated
database structure. An advanced query-builder has also been implemented that enhances access
to the database and enables users to submit more elaborate queries to the database. Several
export functions have also been implemented that allow users to export the results from a query
into an excel file ready for publication. A backup solution was also implemented, ensuring that a
snapshot of the database is backed-up nightly. Snapshots are recycled every two days.
3.2 Programming and design report
The database was developed in two stages. Firstly, much effort was placed in developing a
prototype, or alpha product, that served as a test bed for demonstration, amendment and
refinement. During this period, the team concentrated on implementing many advanced features
that help to illustrate the capabilities of our approach. The second, or beta phase, involved
stabilizing the system and ensuring that that overall user experience was successful. The system
has been refined considerably since the implementation of the alpha phase but also a systematic
approach to the removal of software bugs and other design issues has also been implemented.
Naturally, this is an ongoing process that will continue throughout the lifetime of the application.
Having said that, the software is currently stable and it is expected that any glitches or bugs will
be resolved before the end of the year.
3.3 Technical sustainability
The database is implemented with Ruby on Rails 2.0. This is frozen to ensure there are no
updates that can result in defunct operations. Similarly, Mysql, Apache and Passenger Phusion
are used to manage the persistence and serve the content. The project can be hosted with a
minimum of cost. Currently we have purchased three years hosting from the Irish hosting agency
Blacknight. Thus, overall the technical sustainability is guaranteed for up-to three years.
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Ensuring, of course, that no unforseen difficulties arise, it is expected that maintainance costs
will be negligable for the period.
3.4 Standardisation
In order to design a database that would hold the relevant information it was important that the
IWAA all were recording the same type of information from their samples. Thus the
standardization of methods through the IWAA formed an integral part of the database design.
Analysis of archaeological wood and charcoal is a relatively new discipline, and Ireland is only a
small country. It became integral to research the standards and recording methods in other
countries in order to come to the consensus on the methods the IWAA would use. It was also vital
to be able to incorporate as many different countries methodologies as possible as this would
greatly add to the internationality of the database.
For these reasons, the methods used particularly by European specialists were researched. This
formed an important part of the final report of 2009. Specific thought was given to the French
methodologies used, as the Montpellier and Valbonne schools in France (Chabal 1992, Vernet
1968). This research resulted in the WODAN database design incorporating identifications at the
Taxon level (grouped recordings by species identification) and at the fragment level (single
recordings per each fragment of charcoal) (Figure 2).
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Figure 2 Character and growth page of fragment level
Other methodologies of recording were also incorporated in the WODAN database, including a
template recording sheet from Ludemann and Nelle (2002) and a recording method used by
Marguerie (2007).
Furthermore, it was vital that the database could be linked in with as many other existing
databases as possible. For these reasons linking fields were used for WODAN which in the future
will allow collaboration between the DCCD and TriDAS database.
In order to promote standardization, workshops and meetings were held for a European and
IWAA audience, to come to a consensus on what features and recording methods would be used
on Irish material. In doing this, Ireland is one of the first countries that the charcoal and wood
specialists have unanimously agreed on their standards of recording.
Further standardization is achieved by the queries. These produce several pre-formatted tables
which results in all the specialists using the same tables and graphs within their reports.
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3.5 Development of queries
The design of the database meant that it is to be used as a repository of charcoal and wood
information, potentially for thousands of sites. How then could this data be turned into knowledge
and the value of the database realized to answer research questions posed by the user community?
This is where the development of suitable queries became crucial within the database design. Five
simple queries were developed in total. Two produced tables and additions that are commonly
used by each specialist in their reports, thereby cutting down on work and having everybody
produce the same table of results and thus further standardization.
In the same vein a query that would produce pre-formatted line graphs of annual ring widths was
also developed. These can be used to possibly build on site chronologies and to examine growth
conditions/possible management practices from archaeological material.
Two further queries incorporate the results of research from European colleagues, a graph
examining the age profiles of each wood species (Marguerie/Hunot query) and one that estimates
the original size of a charcoal fragment based on its curvature (Ludemann/Nelle query).
An advanced query tool was then constructed (Figure 3). This is more flexible and complicated
than the simple queries. Five crucial fields were selected for querying. This would strike the
balance between flexibility of queries and also rigidity of field descriptions to make the queries
meaningful. You can select none or all of the queries present in the advanced query builder.
One of the first fields selected was project code. This was chosen because queries may need to be
applied to one project, for example a large infrastructural scheme or group of sites. It also enables
schemes which were analyzed by more than one specialist to be effectively re-joined.
Data can be further queried by County, sample context, sample period and Taxon.
This provides the ability to discuss countless important research questions about the use and
availability of wood resources in Ireland from the prehistoric period to present day.
For example,
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• What was the role of elm during different periods in Ireland?
• How much did ash benefit from felling of primary woodlands during the Neolithic and
Bronze Age?
• What was the tree composition of Ireland’s woodland by the Early Medieval and
Medieval period?
• When were woodland management techniques in use in the country – how does this
differ from other countries?
Figure 3 Query interface of the database
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3.6 MyWODAN
Part of the feedback from the workshops was centered on the level of information that users felt
comfortable presenting to the public. In some cases it would be appropriate to temporarily or
permanently hide results for particular sites. Reasons for this may include if the material is being
used for research such as for a PhD, be under embargo until publication or a client may not wish
for these results to be displayed. If this is the case then the MyWODAN button can be selected
and thus none of this site information or results will be displayed on the database. MyWODAN is
also a profile page where the specialist’s details and number of sites entered is displayed (Figure
4).
A further level of security was added with the WODAN colleague’s button. People can choose if
they wish to share the information only with their wood anatomy colleagues. The highest level of
availability is to tick neither MyWODAN nor WODAN colleagues. If this is the case then the
results are available to the general public.
The MyWODAN facility is very useful also in the respect that people can opt to query their
results only. This could be very important if you only wanted to harness your own results not
everybody else’s.
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Figure 4 MyWODAN
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4 Tulsk case study
The site of Tulsk in Co. Roscommon was subject to excavation by the Discovery Programme
between 2004 and 2009. The licensed director was Niall Brady and the excavation team largely
comprised students during 12 weeks each summer. It is presented here as a case study due to the
charcoal results, and indeed the site results, being in an advanced state of post-excavation
analysis.
Tulsk is a multi-period site within the O’Connor Roe gaelic lordship and it is this period of its
occupation that sees the most striking use of the site with the construction of a, previously
archaeologically unknown, tower house. Prior to this the site, originally a natural mound
overlooking significant lowlands and probably at the crossroads of two ancient route ways, had
prehistoric occupation only tantalizingly glimpsed at during excavation. Iron Age occupation was
also revealed before the construction of an early medieval ringfort; this rath was later raised and
then subsequently divided when the tower house was constructed to the north-western side. Ditch
fortifications were re-dug but were later built over following the final collapse of the tower. Later
medieval occupational evidence is located just off the mound while the top of the mound is
truncated during Elizabethan military garrisoning.
Although singular charcoal samples were hand-picked from the site during excavation, those that
have been entered into the WODAN database so far have been from the environmental
processing. The site was systematically sampled so as to ensure at least one sample from each
context and some significant contexts, such as the main fills of the external ditch and the base of
the garderobe chute, were 100% sampled. Almost all samples were then floated in the field
resulting in charcoal fragments in both the residue and as part of the floated material. As part of
the post-excavation process the charcoal was picked from these dried samples and was then
passed on to Ingelise Stuijts for analysis. To date the majority of these samples have been
analyzed and entered into the WODAN database and manipulation of the data is now possible.
The sampling technique of the Tulsk samples makes it particularly relevant because it includes all
contexts and not just the ‘interesting’ data. Although this has led to many samples being
comprised of just a few fragments, in many samples a broader picture of species selection can be
seen. Whether the larger samples have also managed to produce saturated results, whereby the
limit of species present is deemed to have been reached after a certain amount of counting with
no new species identified, remains to be seen. However the discipline during analysis necessary
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for a saturation curve to be produced, that of not visually selecting in which order to analyse
fragments, was closely followed therefore any bias within the material will be that of on site
selection rather than bias introduced during post-excavation.
Using the pre-built query 1 within the database produces this result for the Tulsk data (Table 1):
Table 1 Query 1- Tulsk data
The fragments counts are therefore very easy to export and graphically represent:
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Ulmus sp.
Unidentified Angiosperm
Bark
Calluna sp.
Ilex aquifolium
Sambucus sp.
Taxus baccata
Betula sp.
Alnus sp. 3%
5%
Prunus spinosa
5%
Salix sp.
6%
Maloideae
9%
Fraxinus sp.
10%
Corylus sp.
30%
Tulsk charcoal fragment counts
Quercus sp.
29%
Figure 5 Fragment count of charcoal from Tulsk
The vast majority of samples taken were from the medieval layers (early to late medieval) as
these were the ones encountered most frequently on site. To date there is little prehistoric data
from Tulsk within the WODAN database and due to the nature of the archaeological remains
what prehistoric charcoal there will be is in limited quantities to the point of being statistically
invalid.
An interesting facet of the Tulsk data is that the charcoal from the processing residue and that
from the floated material were analysed separately. An example within the database can be found
with sample 3590. This was sampled from context 3152, a later medieval ditch fill from the
internal ditch 4317 in area 3C. The flot was relatively small while the retent was 1.5l in volume
from a 10l soil sample.
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Figure 6 S3590, flot fragment count
Figure 7 S3590, weight of flot fragments
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Figure 8 S3590 Retent fragment count
Figure 9 S3590 weight of fragments in retent.
The limited species within the flot (Figures 6 and 7) are revealed to be comparatively
insignificant species within the retent where oak dominates (Figures 8 and 9). This is primarily
due to weight of the fragments and, as can be seen, the five oak fragments within the retent
(Figure 8) occupy a considerably larger percentage of the chart by weight. Willow is perhaps the
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species most affected by the difference between flot and retent results, however a larger sample
size would be preferable to really draw conclusions since this is based on a total of 7 flot
fragments and 14 retent fragments. However, this is a substantially more valid picture of the
species represented within this context than that produced by hand picking samples from the site.
Most significantly the results from sample 3590 reasonably closely match that of the dominant
species from the site as a whole. Those outliers from the whole site results chart are context
specific with the Calluna sp. Ilex aquifolium and Sambucus sp. being largely from individual
contexts while the Taxus baccata represents a possibly worked piece that has later been disposed
of in fire.
In general the use of the WODAN database enables results to be quickly pulled up and whole site
trends observed. Advanced queries can quickly isolate stratigraphic variations and saturation
curves can confirm that a sample is statistically valid. It is a valuable tool even before postexcavation
work has been completed and, perhaps most importantly, enables anyone to use the
same data to produce results tailored to their specific queries.
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5 Sustainability model
5.1 Work is on-going on developing a model for the future sustainability and safeguarding of
data within the WODAN database. The key aims of the model are:
1. Persistent storage of the data in an OAIS compliant digital repository: The Discovery
Programme is currently constructing a Fedora Commons digital repository before the end
of 2011 to house Discovery Programme digital content and additional archaeological
data.
2. Provide for maintenance: day to day alteration of the code due to bugs and additional
activities such as data backups and user administration
3. Provide for the future development of new application tools and extend the use of the
software beyond Ireland and the palaeo-environmental datasets chosen
4. Researching legalities relating to the database (copyright etc.).
The online hosting of the application and database is currently being carried out by Black
Knights. Usually an annual subscription is used to secure this facility, however due to the
uncertainty of funding in the interim, it has been arranged that Black Knight will provide hosting
facilities for the next three years until further funding is secured.
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There are a number of different funding mechanisms which could be used for the WODAN
project. These include:
A. National/Regional Government Funding
B. Project/Grant Funding
C. Subscription Funding
D. Endowment/Philanthropy
E. Commercial Partnership
F. Advertising Revenue
G. Direct Charging/Pay per View
H. Low Cost Business/Internal Resource Deployment
I. Multiple Streams/Hybrid Funding
J. Consortium Model
A
National/Regional Government Funding
Direct and indirect funding derived from governments, departments and NGOs
Advantages
Most stable for organisations/projects in the early stages
Sense of security and authority over content
Government can influence the standards and access to the cultural content
Access can be provided free of charge
Effort and investment in spent on generating income and subscriptions can be spent more
effectively on content collection and promotion
Disadvantages
Less sustainable in the long term with current evidence highlighting those governments are
forcing funded bodies to diversify their funding sources
Hard to secure in current economic climate
Strong competition for government funding as other funding revenues become reduced in the
current economic climate
Theme of project may not be priority of government
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o
This would be an ideal source of funding for the WODAN project. It would cover all
aspects of what is needed for storage, maintenance and development. This would be
possibly be suitable for providing the funding for the extending of the WODAN
capabilities or geographic application (i.e. EU grants).
B
Project/Grant Funding
Funding provided for specific period with specific outcomes
Advantages
Good for the development of a project initiative
Suitable for academic projects
Disadvantages
By nature a short term option and therefore unreliable for longer term security
Highly competitive
Uncertainty to the availability of funding
o
While this would be very useful for the WODAN project, it would not solve the long
term sustainability problems facing the project.
C
Subscription Funding
Charging subscription to cover operational costs, offered to individuals, groups or institutions.
Usually operates as an annual charge/subscription. Value based pricing can be used to provide
tiered charging according to general ability to pay. New derived product is the “freemium”
model where basic content is provided without charge. However, access to certain functions and
the complete data records is only available to paying subscribers. Other variants of this model is
the pay per click/pay per use scenario where the user is charged based upon the volume of data
observed, and the “contributor pays” model where content authors pay to have their data hosted
and published by a trusted and secure online repository
Advantages
Historically stable as it is based on periodical and journal costing models
Once established it can provide profit for the investment into developing the service
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Disadvantages
Charges may not cover the costs
Can provide extra costs and effort including marketing, billing and sales
Users have higher expectation of user support, and service updates
Revenue stream poor at initial stages
Susceptible to changes in the economy leading to cancelled subscriptions
Goes against commitment to provide open access if content users pay
Note: A “freemium” product could be offered where the public can gain access to the basic
WODAN data. However, the deposition of data with the system and to utilize the online tools
could be limited to subscribers. One drawback is in trying to attract users to deposit their data
the extra cost may deter them. One possible solution is to provide a limited number of free data
deposits and online queries before they pay
o
For the WODAN project, a subscription from the user community who are entering
information into the database could deter people from using it. The IWAA, however,
have an annual subscription fee of €15. Members are happy for this to be increased and
for some of the money to be used for sustaining the WODAN database. This would
generate approximately €150 per annum.
D
Endowment/Philanthropy
Following fundraising efforts a large fund is created which subsequently provides a sufficient
annual return on investment to support the resource.
Advantages
Allows for free data access for users
Researchers can concentrate on actual research rather than fund raising (after endowment is
secured)
Can provide greatest stability and hence provide a more effective service
Disadvantages
Cannot function without initial investment
Approximately 20 times the annual operating costs need to be generated
Linked to success and failure of financial markets
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Inflexible to large market changes as the project would be locked into a specific development
model, i.e. costs may grow but endowment cannot keep pace
o
The WODAN project may be a difficult one to fundraise for; it is unlikely that this model
would work for this context.
E
Commercial Partnership
Project is carried out in conjunction with commercial partner who can potentially generate
revenue or reuse the content for their own purposes.
Advantages
Can use skills and expertise within a commercial company e.g. developments in new technologies
and potential applications
Costs can be reduced as reuse of commercial partner’s infrastructure can be implemented
Digitisation rates increase
Responsibility of content management can be removed from researchers’ workload
Disadvantages
Loss of control of data and data standards
Sustainability of relationship, as commercial partner may change direction or cease to exist
Complex business models and planning required to function successfully
Certain models can go against the ethical ideals of access to academic data
Specialised content material may not be attractive to commercial partners
o
Due to the current economic climate a commercial partner would most likely be difficult
to source.
F
Advertising Revenue
32

The insertion of advertising banners and content within a website is used to derive revenue for
website sustainability and growth. The cost derived by the advertising is dependent upon the
perceived value of the visitors to the website.
Advantages
If a niche service is created advertising for specific products can be attracted
Disadvantages
Customers turned off by the presence of advertising
Revenue not guaranteed
Uncommon for non-profit and academic sectors
Perception of the commercialisation of scholarship
Requires sufficiently large audiences
Complicated by variety of advertising forms
o
The level of web traffic going through the database is unlikely to be enough to generate
any revenue from advertising.
G
Direct Charging/Pay per View
Similar to the subscription model however users opt to purchase individual content or gain access
to content for a specific time period e.g. 24 hours
Advantages
Offers alternative to full subscription for irregular users
Allows for smaller more attractive pricing for users unable to commit to a full subscription
Can allow users to “test drive” a service before committing to full subscription costs
Can be used by project to establish how much users are willing to pay for a service
Disadvantages
Pricing models can be difficult to establish (low to attract usage but high enough to sustain
service)
33

o
This model could work well for the WODAN project. It could entice people in to use the
product and perhaps pave the way for a subscription model in the future.
34

H
Low Cost Business/Internal Resource Deployment
In effect the sustainability represented here is the ability to remain in existence without the ability
for any significant development of a service beyond its current level. Further development is
dependent upon access to future grants and other incomes. Costs are minimised by embedding the
resource in an existing organisation, thus reusing some of their staffing and infrastructure
facilities
Advantages
Achieved at modest or low cost
Potential to offer income streams to host organisations
Provide host institution to be ahead of the game and manage strategic assets
Can change strategic thinking in institution and sector to help embed digital practices
Disadvantages
Host organisation must be able to change their operational practices and mindset to accommodate
services effectively
Low priority in times of “austerity”
Lack of additional funding could stagnate development of service thus reduce its effectiveness
“Low Cost” does not mean “No Cost”
o
It may be possible to embed the WODAN project into a government funded organisation.
This is all dependent on future funding.
I
Multiple Streams/Hybrid Funding
Institutions raise income to sustain the service by combining different funding streams as
described in the previous paragraphs
Advantages
Loss of one funding stream would not cause the demise in the complete service
Eliminates the risk caused by the dependency on a single funding source
Profitability of individual funding streams can vary
Ability to promote content and resources to different audiences by using variable funding streams
35

Disadvantages
Difficult to manage and administrate if funding streams are too numerous and complex
Conflicts of interest may occur in the adoption of conflicting funding schemes i.e. profit making
vs non-profitable status
o
If managed properly this could be a good solution for WODAN.
J
Consortium Model
Not a sustainability model as described in the previous examples. Organisations can effectively
work together in supporting a resource by contributing administration, skills and technology
resources
Advantages
Financially advantageous model due to economies of scale
Attractive within the current reduction in budgets
Fosters good sharing practice amongst supporting institutions
Disadvantages
Require significant up-front planning and ongoing management
o
This could work for WODAN if government or commercially funded bodies felt that the
database was a good enough product to amalgamate resources on.
36

6 Outreach and Publication plan
The publication plan is focussed on bringing the WODAN database to as wide an audience as
possible. An article has already been submitted to Archaeology Ireland for publication in winter
2010.
We will start working on a joint publication from Dr. Ingelise Stuijts, Dr. Scott Timpany, Dr.
Eileen Reilly, Dr. Bettina Stefanini, Ellen O’Carroll, Lorna O’Donnell, Mary Dillon, Mick Monk,
Abigail Brewer, Penny Johnston, Cathy Moore and Susan Lyons which was presented at the
Kilkenny Archaeological Landscapes conference in October. This publication will use
environmental material from Kilkenny which is currently entered on the WODAN database. It
may become a template for future environmental synthesis publications working with the
database on a county to county basis.
Two technical papers looking at the construction of the software and user interface considerations
are being prepared for submission to both Internet Archaeology (http://intarch.ac.uk/); and online
e-journal and for the Computer Applications in Archaeology (CAA) conference in Beijing in
2011.
Further publications may result from the AEA conference in Kyoto in Dec 2010 and from the Vth
Meeting of Anthracology in Spain in 2011.
37

7 Dissemination of the database
7.1 General dissemination
The WODAN project has been disseminated through a variety of different means both in Ireland,
Europe and America.
The primary source of dissemination has always been the WODAN website (www.wodan.ie)
which is frequently updated and is a focus point for communications about the project. This was
set up at the start of the project in 2008. Interim and final reports are available for download from
the Heritage Council Website and sent electronically to all interested parties.
7.2 2008 Dissemination
• June-July– Poster presentation - World Archaeological Congress (WAC-6) in Ireland.
• September- Poster presentation- IVth International Meeting of Anthracology in Brussels
• September-poster presentation - Association for Environmental Archaeology in Aarhus
(Denmark)
• Workshop – Charcoal database workshop (Mitchell Power, University of Utah), Brussels.
• September- Handouts- European Archaeological Association in Malta
7.3 2009 Dissemination
• July- poster presentation Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland in Dublin
• August – poster presentation National Roads Authority Conference in Dublin
• September – poster presentation 15 th annual meeting of the European Association of
Archaeologists, held in Riva del Garda, Italy
• October – poster presentation XXXe Rencontres Internationales d'Archéologie et
d'Histoire d'Antibes in France
• Date - 'Holz' symposium in the University of Karl-Franzens in Graz, Austria,
• October – International workshop, Dublin (see below).
• October – IWAA workshop (see below)
38

A networking site was created using Ning Social network software. It is available at
http://wodan-eu.ning.com. It is expected that this site will become more active when the
database has become active online.
7.4 2009 International workshop
The international WODAN workshop was held on Tuesday 6 th October 2009 to demonstrate the
database to the wider community and receive valuable feedback for its continuing development.
A morning of introductions to the work to date was followed by a practical session in which the
charcoal database was trialed in small groups. The feedback received from these sessions was indepth,
specific to elements of the database, and very useful. Participants were also able to test out
the database personally and discover how well their data would fit into the established model.
The workshop was attended in total by twenty eight people, specialists not only in wood and
charcoal but in related disciplines such as dendrochronology, pollen and insect analysis. The aim
of the well rounded nature of the expertise was to make the database as easy to integrate with
other disciplines as possible. While the main active members of the online database community
will be the wood and charcoal specialists, other members of the environmental and archaeological
community will be free to access information for comparable purposes. This will aim to provide
integration of environmental and archaeological results. This is a crucial aspect that is sometimes
missing in Irish archaeology, one that the WODAN project aims to go some way towards
rectifying.
All of the attendants at the International workshop got a chance to fill in some charcoal
information on the database. This was extremely valuable in terms of the input received. Many
features were flagged and discussed, in some cases the participants felt too many details were
being recorded, and in other cases extra fields were called for where more description was
necessary. The most important changed flagged as a direct result of the workshop can be seen in
Appendix 3.
After the International workshop, a user profile was set up for each participant to allow them to
use the database online and come back to us with further comments.
39

Many of the people who attended the workshop also filled out an online questionnaire to enable
feedback for the structure of the database and the fields. The questionnaire highlighted that the
user community felt that the database functioned well, and that it was relatively easy to use. The
level of presentation scored highly. Most people felt they would recommend the database to their
colleagues and that it was very useful.
7.5 2009- IWAA workshop
Following on from the International workshop, a further workshop was held for the IWAA
members on the 17 th of November. This was to allow the Irish people to use the newest amended
database version to provide feedback from the work they had completed with their user profiles.
The structure of the database was outlined again (including recommended changes from the
International workshop). The queries envisaged were discussed in more detail than was possible
at the International workshop, aiming to see that we are covering as many questions as possible
with the queries that we are developing.
The two workshops allowed the WODAN database to be demonstrated by the creators and
database designers to the intended user community. This allowed the database to be fully
explained and provided a forum for people to ask various questions on its use and structure. The
workshops also received essential feedback from the intended user community. This resulted in a
considerable amount of adjustments to the database in order to make it more intuitive to the
intended user community.
As well as the workshops, some of the wood and charcoal specialists who would have a large
personal archive dedicated time in the Discovery Programme offices populating the database with
their own projects, to build up their MyWODAN archive (Susan Lyons, Ellen O’Carroll, Mary
Dillon).
7.6 2010 Dissemination
• February – poster presentation at Wetland Archaeology in Ireland and Beyond
conference in UCD, Dublin.
• September – flyer presentation at the EAA conference 2010 1-5 th September (The Hague,
Netherlands).
• September – poster presentation Meso 2010 (Santander, Spain)
• October – presentation of a case study at Kilkenny Archaeological landscapes conference
40

• October – presentation at Wood anatomy and Tree Ring ecology course, Lisbon.
• December – presentation at the Association for Environmental Archaeology (AEA)
Annual Conference in Kyoto, Japan.
7.7 2010 IWAA Workshop
The IWAA workshop was attended by nine members of the IWAA and five other interested
parties, including representatives from UCD, the IADG (Irish Archaeobotanical Discussion
Group) and the DOE. During the morning, progress on the database was presented. A round table
discussion meeting was then held. Items on the agenda of this meeting included requirements
from the database, access policy, backlog of information, future collaboration and a publication
plan. This meeting was very fruitful, offering some insights into dealing with the backlog of
information possibly through PhD or masters students. Ownership of the data was also discussed
in detail, along with possibilities for future funding for input of data.
After the meeting, the participants were broken into groups and the database was demonstrated,
with a particular emphasis on the queries now available.
7.8 Future dissemination
• Publication plan (Section 6)
• Presentation at the Vth International meeting of Anthracology in Spain, 2010.
• Forthcoming lecture at Clontibret National School.
• Forthcoming lecture for the Kilkenny beekeepers society.
41

8 Licensing of the WODAN database.
The WODAN database will house a large body of unpublished material. This needs some form of
licensing regulation to ensure that people’s data is not being used in an inappropriate manner.
Obviously this is not the first time such a situation has occurred and there are many precedents
for similar circumstances.
Two types of licensing agreements will be reviewed: creative commons and the data access
policy – Global Palaeofire working group
8.1 Creative commons
This can be found at www.creativecommons.org and the tag line is Share, Remix, Reuse, the idea
is to help people easily and quickly understand what they can do with a piece of work created by
someone else.
Creative Commons as a corporation are a non-profit, community-based (online community that
is) organization that provide free licenses and legal tools to mark work thus allowing easy sharing
with limited risk of getting your work stolen or not properly credited. As they aim to promote a
standard, using CC tools helps end users to quickly understand how they can reuse the work and
so encourages sharing.
The website offers form-based legal documents and advice on how to use them to protect your
work in whichever way you want it protected. Once a license is attached to a piece of work there
is little further connection with the Creative Commons organization as their use does not require
further involvement, e.g. paying to access the terms.
At a basic level a piece of work protected by a CC license requires the original author to be
properly attributed. Unless the author specifies the manner of attribution then five basic principles
apply: copyright notices must be left intact and reproduced proportionately; the authors name (or
other user identity) must be cited; the work’s title (if one exists) must be cited; the CC license
must be cited; and finally if the work has been adapted in any way this must be stated.
There are six main, commonly-used licenses and they are identifiable by four symbols (see
below). With regard to WODAN, the advantages of licensing by symbols is instantly identifiable
42

and the ease of use, ease of attaching different restrictions to different parts and the fact it’s free
are all good.
Attribution by
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your copyrighted work — and derivative
works based upon it — but only if they give credit the way you request.
Share Alike sa
You allow others to distribute derivative works only under a license identical to the license that
governs your work.
Non-Commercial nc
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your work — and derivative works based
upon it — but for non-commercial purposes only.
No Derivative Works nd
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform only verbatim copies of your work, not
derivative works based upon it.
43

The Licenses
Attribution
cc by
This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as
long as they credit you for the original creation. This is the most accommodating of licenses
offered, in terms of what others can do with your works licensed under Attribution.
Attribution Share Alike
cc by-sa
This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work even for commercial reasons, as
long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms. This license is
often compared to open source software licenses. All new works based on yours will carry the
same license, so any derivatives will also allow commercial use.
Attribution No Derivatives
cc by-nd
This license allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is passed
along unchanged and in whole, with credit to you.
Attribution Non-Commercial
cc by-nc
This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, and although
their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license
their derivative works on the same terms.
Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike
cc by-nc-sa
44

This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as
they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms. Others can download
and redistribute your work just like the by-nc-nd license, but they can also translate, make
remixes, and produce new stories based on your work. All new work based on yours will carry
the same license, so any derivatives will also be non-commercial in nature.
Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives
cc by-nc-nd
This license is the most restrictive of our six main licenses, allowing redistribution. This license is
often called the “free advertising” license because it allows others to download your works and
share them with others as long as they mention you and link back to you, but they can’t change
them in any way or use them commercially.
45

8.2 DATA ACCESS POLICY: GLOBAL PALAEOFIRE WORKING GROUP
http://www.bridge.bris.ac.uk/projects/QUEST_IGBP_Global_Palaeofire_WG/database/accesspoli
cy.html
The aim of the Global Palaeofire Working Group is to continue the growth of the first global
palaeofire dataset collected. The data policy used by the group is listed below:
The following data access policy is designed to cover both observational data and modeling
results.
1. The data held in the data base is used by the Palaeofire Working Group for specified
analyses (i.e., the Dartington Hall papers).
2. People contributing charcoal data to the database are co-authors of the paper in which the
specified analysis is published.
3. The data underlying the analyses and the results of the analysis are considered publicaccess
once the initial paper describing the database and the specified analyses is "in
press".
4. The database is made available to all project members throughout the project via the
project website. Although this is primarily designed to facilitate checking and verification
of the database, it would be possible to use the data for other analyses as the need or
opportunity for this arises. People who wish to use the data for such analyses must
contact the working group coordinators, who will then seek permission for access from
the relevant members of the working group.
5. Members of the project may request access to data in the database for their own analyses
during the course of the project through the coordinator of the synthesis.
6. On publication, the most current version of the database is lodged with the archive
facilities at NOAA-NGDC WDC-A (Palaeoclimatology) and at BADC in the UK, and is
therefore freely available to the scientific community. Appropriate synthetic products
from the database and paper will also be lodged with the Palaeoclimate Modelling
Intercomparison Project.
7. The database may be used for further analyses after the publication of the initial paper.
Co-authorship of subsequent analyses of the data from the database is determined by
46

intellectual input to these analyses, not contribution of data. To facilitate collaboration,
the coordinator of each synthesis will announce planned analyses on the project website.
The data-access policy is based on the policy adopted by the Palaeovegetation Mapping Project
(BIOME 6000). It conforms to the guidelines laid down in the PAGES data guide Other
initiatives within the BIOME 6000 project (e.g. PAIN, CiMBIO) and in QUEST have similar
data-access policies, and these policies are in conformity with the guidelines given by WDC-A,
IGBP-PAGES, and funding agencies such as the EU and the UK NERC, and is consistent with
the public-access policy of journals such as Nature.
8.3 WODAN – the best policy to use?
Drawing on the experience of both Creative Commons and the Global palaeofire working group
the below solution for WODAN is suggested. A default licence may be set that as soon as a user
opens the WODAN database they have to tick before they can progress further. The below picture
will appear on the link to the user agreement.
Creative Commons
Creative Commons License Deed
Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported
You are free:
• to Share — to copy, distribute and transmit the work
47

• to Remix — to adapt the work
Under the following conditions:
• Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or
licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
• Noncommercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes.
With the understanding that:
• Waiver — Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the
copyright holder.
• Public Domain — Where the work or any of its elements is in the public domain under
applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
• Other Rights — In no way are any of the following rights affected by the license:
o Your fair dealing or fair use rights, or other applicable copyright exceptions and
limitations;
o
o
The author's moral rights;
Rights other persons may have either in the work itself or in how the work is
used, such as publicity or privacy rights.
• Notice — For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms
of this work. The best way to do this is with a link to this web page.
48

9 Aims for the future
The WODAN project has achieved a considerable amount in the three years it has been in
operation. Due to the time constraints imposed, it was not possible to achieve everything in the
original aims. Much of our aims for the future come from feedback from the user community,
either at the workshops or through questionnaires.
Further development of the database would include the development of a rapid data entry tool.
This is a dedicated computer programme which will be tailored to a particular specialist or
project. The programme would automatically incorporate data from excel sheets currently in use.
Feedback from the user community also flagged the need for further development of the worked
wood forms, for example to incorporate components of domestic wooden artifacts.
We would also like to apply for future funding to enter extant charcoal and wood information into
the database. We have recorded how long it takes to input samples. Depending on the fragment
counts and level of detail, specialists are able to input approximately 20-40 charcoal samples per
day.
We hope that in the future, the WODAN database will become the main repository for charcoal
and wood results from Ireland and in Europe.
49

10 Conclusions
In 2008 the IWAA identified a knowledge gap in the area of wood and charcoal research in
Ireland. This had two main facets – a need for standardization and a need for a secure digital
repository of the huge amount of wood and charcoal results being generated in Celtic Tiger
Ireland. The INSTAR grants provided a unique opportunity to fund this work. Standardization
and a safe working database were both achieved within the boundaries of the WODAN project.
The strength of the WODAN database lies in its user community. In this respect, the WODAN
project is extremely fortunate in having the full backing of the IWAA. WODAN grew by
reputation and publicizing it both in Ireland and abroad. Now all the wood and charcoal
specialists working in Ireland are committed to using the database along with many people from
other countries, in Europe, America and Australia.Other international charcoal specialists who
have come on board include Dr. Oliver Nelle (Holland), Dr. Otto Brinkkemper (Germany), Dr.
Robyn Veal (Australia), Dr. Stéphanie Thiébault (France) and Dr. Mitchell Power (America).
The development of queries was a crucial part of the WODAN database. This will allow
specialists and non specialists alike to search results from any part of Ireland, indeed from any
part of the world. It will be invaluable for the interpretation of both large developments and
smaller sites. For the first time, we have the potential for all the analysis of this important
environmental material from Ireland to be housed in one safe and secure media. The online
viability means that it can be accessed and queried, any time, any place in the world. It also
removes the problem of databases having to be updated and sent around individuals.
Over 370 sites have been added to the WODAN database, including approximately 1500 charcoal
and 1000 wood samples. This is only the beginning; in the future we aim for thousands of sites to
be added, making Ireland one of the leaders in archaeological wood and charcoal research.
50

References
Chabal, L. 1992. La représentativité paléo-écologique des charbons de bois archéolgiques issus
du bois de feu. Bulletin de la Société Botanique de France 139, 213-36.
Ludemann, T. and Nelle, O. 2002. Die Wälder am Schauinsland und ihre Nutzung durch Bergbau
und Köhlerei. Förstliche Versuchs-und Forschungsanstalt Baden-Württemberg. Abteilung
Botanik und Standortskunde, 15, Freiburg.
Marguerie, D. and Hunot, J.Y. 2007. Charcoal analysis and dendrology: data from archaeological
sites in north-western France. Journal of Archaeological Science 34 1417-1433.
Stuijts, I., Lyons, S. and O’Donnell, L. 2008. Heritage Council INSTAR ref:16679. WODAN –
Developing a wood and charcoal database for Ireland 2008 final report. Unpublished report for
the Heritage Council.
Stuijts, I. and O’Donnell, L. 2009. Heritage Council INSTAR ref:16705. The development of a
wood database and a charcoal database for Ireland (WODAN). Unpublished report for the
Heritage Council.
Vernet, J.L. 1968. La couverture forestiére des Causses du Massif Central de France au Postglaciaire
d’aprés l’étude de charbons de bois préhistoriques, dans Bull. Assoc. Fr. Ét. Quat., 16, p.
181-196.
51