I'm not sure that I see what the problem is here. The great thing about GIS
is that you can create and organise data into layers that can be switched on
or off, or analysed through the intersection of the polygons. Layers
obscuring others have only to be made into see-through outlines. If the
number of find-spots was getting in the way of the rest of the SMR data,
even after creating a legend by, say, site-type, there might be a case for
putting them into a separate layer that could be turned off.
We have a basic point data layer containing SMR monument grid references,
and separate polygon layers containing SAM and Listed Building outlines,
archaeological fieldwork, Historic Landuse Assessment, Agri-Environment
consultations, etc. The Council of course has hundreds of other layers too
that can be used too - Conservation Areas, Woodland Grant Schemes, SSSIs,
planning, property, etc etc. You could never possibly show them all but who
would ever want to?
As the GIS grows, it means we no longer need to record 'Area Status', for
example. And we can restrict our database to 'monuments' as see instantly on
screen if there has been archaeological fieldwork in the area. We are
already moving on from an essentially text based database system to a much
more visual one based on maps and images, with the GIS at the heart of the
system rather than as an addition to it.
John Wood
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