Every STP, Every Feature, Every Context — On the Map, Offline
Site forms, context sheets, the daily field log and the photo log filled on the phone with no signal — georeferenced, timestamped, and ready for the Phase I, II or III report the SHPO will read.
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Sound familiar?
The dig is the easy part. The record is what the SHPO, the client and the curation facility will actually judge.
The SHPO sends the report back over the photo log
Photo numbers in the log do not match the plates, two overview shots have no bearing, and one feature photo was taken by somebody who is not on the crew list. One comment letter, one more billing cycle before clearance.
The excavator does not wait for the monitor
On a pipeline or transmission line the trench is open for minutes before backfill. If the archaeological monitor cannot prove — with time and coordinates — that the exposed profile was recorded before the bucket came back, the monitoring report is an opinion.
STP locations live in three places
The crew chief has them in a GPS unit, the field tech in a notebook, the GIS person in a shapefile from last Tuesday. Reconciling 400 shovel tests across a 20-mile corridor after the fact is a week of time nobody can bill.
Bag tags, level forms and the catalog disagree
Provenience written by hand on a bag in the rain, level form filled at the truck, catalog typed at the lab. When the three do not agree, the curation facility asks which one is right and the answer is a guess.
Three field crews, one PI, no signal
A Phase I survey with three crews across two counties. The principal investigator finds out about the positive shovel test — the one that changes the scope — when the crew is back at the motel.
What the Section 106 record needs
Each requirement the review process puts on the fieldwork, and where the product answers it.
Identification and evaluation of historic properties within the APE, documented
Section 106 NHPA · 36 CFR 800
Every survey block, STP, site and feature is a georeferenced record with its forms and photos, inside the project folder whose drawn area is the APE.
Site location, boundary and description on the state site form
SHPO · state site form
The site boundary is walked with GPS and drawn on the map; the site record holds the fields the form asks for, filled in the field instead of retyped.
Provenience for every object going to curation
36 CFR 79 · Curation of collections
Each find is a record with site, unit, level, depth and context, with its photos — the same provenience the bag tag and the catalog must match.
Photo log with number, subject, direction, author and date
Report standards · SHPO review
Photos carry coordinates, date, time and author inside the file and are attached to the record they document; the log is built from them, not transcribed.
Archaeological monitoring record of ground disturbance
Monitoring plan · agency or client
The monitor records each exposed profile with timestamped, georeferenced photos before backfill; the daily log comes from those records.
Assessment record under the licensed archaeologist's report
Provincial heritage branch · Canada
Forms per assessment stage, hours per person on site and the photo record are kept per project, so the licensee's report is built from the field record.
Built for contract archaeology
The record the SHPO, the client and the curation facility ask for — filled once, in the field.
APE, survey blocks and sites as folders on the map
Each project is a folder with its area drawn on the map; survey blocks, sites and features nest inside. Load the client's corridor as Shapefile, KML or GeoJSON and walk the site boundary with GPS to draw it.
Site forms, context sheets and level forms on the phone
Custom forms with sections and validation for STPs, test units, features and finds. Photos are taken from inside the record and carry coordinates, date, time and author in the file — the photo log writes itself.
Offline in the corridor, synced at the motel
Forms, photos, hours and GPS work with no signal and keep the time they were filled. When the phone reconnects the PI sees every positive test and feature on the map.
Review before it goes to the SHPO
Reports are generated from what was recorded, with a review and approval step before anything counts as done. Share one project with the client or a subconsultant without exposing the others; site locations and labour cost hidden by profile.
Your recording system, set up by Jos.IA
Describe your STP form, your soil description fields and your artifact classes in your own words. Jos.IA builds the templates and field groups in about 90 seconds, and later answers questions about hours and expenses per project.
Hours per person per site, for the invoice
GPS presence recognizes which block each tech was at and when. The timesheet gives hours per person per project with labour cost and an approval flow — what a time-and-materials invoice needs.
A day of Phase I survey on a transmission corridor
From the transect plan to the site form — every shovel test, feature and photo tied to where it was recorded and when.
APE and survey blocks set up as folders on the map
The PI draws the project APE as the top folder and each survey block as a nested folder. The crew chief loads the transect shapefile as a layer. Every crew sees only its block, with the STP interval and the forms it must fill.
Shovel tests recorded where they are dug
Each STP is a record with soil profile by stratum, depth, Munsell color, positive or negative, and photos taken from inside the record. GPS presence marks arrival at the block automatically, even with no signal.
Find and context recorded before the hole is closed
Lithic debitage at 30–40 cm. The tech fills the context sheet, photographs the profile with north arrow and scale, bags the material with the same provenience the record shows. The PI sees it on the map as soon as the phone reconnects.
Daily field log and photo log, already filled
The field log is the sum of what each crew recorded: STPs dug, positives, features, weather, who was on site and for how many hours. The photo log is built from the photos themselves — number, subject, direction, author, time.
Site form and report from the record, not from memory
The crew walks the site boundary with GPS and the polygon is drawn. The site record holds the fields the state site form asks for. The Phase I report PDF pulls forms, photos and maps by folder, goes through internal review and then to the SHPO.
See it in action
This is what Geodocs looks like for your team every day.
Trench 3 — Sector B
Active excavation
Design recording forms for your methodology
Every excavation has its own recording system. Geodocs lets you build custom forms for finds, stratigraphic units, soil descriptions, and daily logs — so your digital records match your methodology exactly.
Excavation Diary
Trench 3 — Sector B
Works where other tools don't
Built offline-first. Your team collects data without signal — photos, GPS, forms, reports. Everything syncs the moment connectivity returns. No data lost. Ever.