Archaeological Site

Synonyms / Other Terms Used

Archaeological Area, Archaeology, Prehistoric Site

Category

Tourism, Heritage Attractions, Cultural Attractions, History, Historical Attractions

Message / Function

To indicate the location of an archaeological site

	Source	Description
	BTA 1989	Spade and pickaxe
	Québec	Side view of pottery with several cracks and missing pieces
	Argentina SSTN	Side view of decorated pottery with two handles and crack
	Ecuador	Piece of pottery with several cracks, several shards below
	BTA 1989	Side view of Roman helmet
	BS 8501:2002	Side view of Roman helmet
	BTA 1989	Two stones in outline next to broken bone
	BS 8501:2002	Side view of megalithic structure with two vertical standing stones topped by connecting horizontal stone
	BTA 1989	Side view of megalithic structure with two vertical standing stones topped by connecting horizontal stone in outline
	Extremadura	Side view of megalithic structure with two vertical standing stones topped by connecting horizontal stone
	SVI	Broken Ionic capital, column and base indicating remains of classical temple
	MDCT	Side view of a Mesoamerican pyramid
	Jalisco	Side view of a Mesoamerican pyramid
	Ecuador	Temple pyramid like structure with door in the center
	Peru 2016	Frontal view of Inca style trapezoidal doorway made of large stones
	Bolivia	Frontal view of Inca style trapezoidal doorway plus pottery
	Extremadura	Oblique view of two arc like wall remains made of stones

Note: Some of the examples shown above were mirrored horizontally to contrast differences.

Discussion

The selection above indicates that no visual stereotype exists to indicate the location of an archaeological site: image contents vary to a large extent, on one hand regarding the region, where the pictograms are used, and on the other hand concerning the type of remains found. The British Standard BS 8501:2002 for example offers several pictograms, starting with No 8055 for industrial archaeology sites, followed by No 8056 showing a side view of a Roman helmet for sites with Roman remains, and No 8057 for prehistoric sites or monuments. Furthermore it has to be regarded that there is some overlap between the referents Archaeological Site, Ruins, and Monument.

We could not find any test data concerning graphic symbols for Archaeological Site in our database, so we cannot present specific information concerning comprehensibility or some other parameters for one or several of the pictograms presented above.

Recommendations

Due to the fact that no data concerning comprehensibility of any pictogram variant is available, we recommend to collect more pictograms, and to conduct research using the Comprehensibility Estimation procedure for eliminating poor variants and identifying the best of the set available, followed by a Comprehension Test. These studies should deliver useful data for recommending one or several pictograms. Detailed information about the most frequent responses given in each of the response categories of the Comprehension Test should be provided to correctly judge comprehensibility and improve designs.

Tests of pictograms of referent Archaeological Site

No data from research or tests is available in our database.