Archaeologist | FSA | Available for projects | Working with #3Dscanning since 2002 | Rock art & inscriptions | Folklore, traditions & customs Website: https://tom.goskar.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3mcz6gcxvsc2vPlaying with CloudCompare to compute roughness models at different levels to try and tease out more letters of a particularly eroded early medieval inscription on rough granite. Natural crystal structure is too noisy to gain more detail from depth mapping and AO. Trend surface might also work.22 Jan 2026 12:22 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcz6gcxvsc2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3m22u4z3tvs22Very sad that Dr Andy M Jones from Cornwall Archaeological Unit has died. I'd worked and co-authored a couple of papers with him. He was constantly working on projects, his brain always fizzing with ideas and connections. We planned some "one day" Cornish rock art projects. Must make them happen.30 Sep 2025 15:37 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3m22u4z3tvs22https://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3lxucfy45x22vSome thoughts on 3D structured light scanning (SLS) for archaeologists and heritage folks. https://tom.goskar.com/2025/09/02/experiments-in-structured-light-3d-scanning/02 Sep 2025 14:13 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lxucfy45x22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3lihl3c34qk2aJust tried Perplexity's AI Deep Research tool. It made up a great looking report answering my queries about literacy levels of early medieval British stonemasons. It literally made it up, including imaginary quotes from imaginary manuscripts. It didn't use the sources I gave it either. Fail!18 Feb 2025 15:26 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lihl3c34qk2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3ldlbj3cydk2eIt’s a data processing week this week. Creating a very high resolution model of an inscribed stone to analyse every bit of its surface, including some tantalising but faint markings. The fans are revving up on my main computer. My office needed warming up anyway…18 Dec 2024 11:39 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3ldlbj3cydk2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3lczkwnh6ds2rToday it's back to eroded inscriptions; tracing, and teasing individual letters out of coarse granite. Tomorrow sees me heading out for some fieldwork to clean and record another inscribed early medieval stone that also has some ogham. Will post some images once the project has been delivered!11 Dec 2024 10:40 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lczkwnh6ds2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3lc3h2oiwzc2nToday is one of those days where every question I answer about an early medieval inscription, every letter identified leads to fifteen further questions. Who carved it? Could they read the inscription? Had they seen writing before? Did anyone check it? Why didn't they frame it first? Etc etc.29 Nov 2024 11:11 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lc3h2oiwzc2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3lbz5emktes2kCurrently stuck on reading a very eroded part of an inscription. Even on the monument just a couple of chalk strokes indicate that there's something there. The 3D scan shows much more when you filter it correctly. But it's still quite far gone. Going to use all of the enhancements I can think of.28 Nov 2024 13:12 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbz5emktes2khttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3lbjv7ldsmk23One of the difficulties of visiting a church to 3D scan something specific is then seeing other interesting things, like fragments of stone, worn out decorations, unreadable monumental inscriptions. I *might* have captured a few extras just to have a look.22 Nov 2024 11:36 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbjv7ldsmk23https://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3lbjum56b5k23Today is all about file organisation and data processing. I'm also comparing datasets collected with two cameras, one of which is an iPhone 16 Pro Max using its 48 megapixel files.22 Nov 2024 11:25 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbjum56b5k23https://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3lbhsvea4722eThe second monument is perhaps Cornwall’s only inscribed stone situated next to a lovely warm radiator. It’s the ‘Selus’ stone in St Just Church. We’re using 3D enhancement techniques to check for missing details.21 Nov 2024 15:49 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbhsvea4722ehttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3lbhsdavpok2eFirst monument of the day: the early medieval ‘Qonfal’ (personal name meaning “great wolf” according to Prof Charles Thomas in 1993) memorial in Madron Church.21 Nov 2024 15:39 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbhsdavpok2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3lbgy6ew7lc2eHeavy rain out there down here in the far west of Cornwall. Luckily today’s fieldwork isn’t in a field, but inside two churches. And if there’s a break in the rain, outside at a third.21 Nov 2024 07:51 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbgy6ew7lc2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3lbfttud2ik2eTime for new strings on my mandolin.20 Nov 2024 21:01 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbfttud2ik2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3lbfaylntv22gGetting ready for more fieldwork tomorrow. Three churches. One particularly exciting inscribed stone, and the overriding question of “is it a chi-rho?” It’s complicated and detail-driven work to tease out every bit of detail from coarse Cornish granite.20 Nov 2024 15:23 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbfaylntv22ghttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3lb7uoyz6qc2aToday I am mainly tracing lines. Lines possibly created as a pillar with an early medieval inscription was (current hypothesis) moved by dragging it lengthways then turning it nearly 90 degrees and dragging it again. Some of those lines have been interpreted as a cross, and were later recut as one.18 Nov 2024 12:00 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lb7uoyz6qc2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3lavp7g5tfc24Today I am mainly working on Sourton cross, analysing 3D capture data of the supposed chi-rho to see if it’s really there, what form it takes, and to make some clear images of the early medieval inscription (6th-9th century).14 Nov 2024 10:55 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lavp7g5tfc24https://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3lar25ddghk2i@grahamtait.bsky.social Welcome to Bluesky!12 Nov 2024 14:28 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lar25ddghk2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3lap4pf77u224Having a much-needed screen break from tracing decorations on an early medieval cross. Not as easy as just click and trace, but every line must have evidence and my decisions and thinking need to be documented, and that’s difficult on eroded coarse granite. Now, where’s that line again?11 Nov 2024 20:08 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lap4pf77u224https://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3lagd7qkoyx2aToday I will mainly be carefully tracing (via hi-res 3D surface and filters) what is thought to be a chi-rho carved into the top of an early medieval inscribed stone in Cornwall. Spoiler alert: it’s not a chi-rho, but a jaunty rendition of a tau-rho.08 Nov 2024 08:11 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lagd7qkoyx2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3laefolw6ok2uSuddenly I have lots of new followers. Thanks for following. I'm an archaeologist and mainly work enhancing and interpreting inscribed or carved stones. I use 3D capture methods to make highly detailed surface models and a variety of techniques to make them clearer. Amongst other digital things...07 Nov 2024 13:50 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3laefolw6ok2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3l6sfmoulhb2iVery atmospheric conditions for a bit of recording today.18 Oct 2024 16:35 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3l6sfmoulhb2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3l6rhn5ejxc2zBeautiful day for some fieldwork. Off to record some medieval crosses in east Cornwall and West Devon to study their inscriptions.18 Oct 2024 07:39 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3l6rhn5ejxc2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3l4ybvxxqx52oThe camera on the new iPhone 16 Pro is fantastic. Just did some photogrammetry using its full 48MP and the results were great. Clearly it’s not going to outperform a dedicated camera with a full size sensor and a good lens, but it’s always in my pocket or bag. Must try the macro next.25 Sep 2024 13:55 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3l4ybvxxqx52ohttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3kvefa2vtiz2mJust checking through my notes for a lecture with @tehm.bsky.social this evening on Midsummer fire customs in the far west of Cornwall. Which will then turn into musical procession (yes, we’re playing the music too) of the audience up to a hill to light a huge beacon. And then eat pasties.20 Jun 2024 14:04 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3kvefa2vtiz2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3knqs4ulr232hSome thoughtful words on the 'guardrails' of Generative AI (GenAI) systems: https://www.time.com/6835213/the-future-of-censorship-is-ai-generated/15 Mar 2024 17:05 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3knqs4ulr232hhttps://bsky.app/profile/tom.goskar.com/post/3kmniaucilz2dA few people have asked me about how energy intensive LLMs such as ChatGPT & Gemini are to use regularly, and it's a good question (answer: lots). Energy efficiency is being tackled at both silicon and programming levels. Latest 1bit LLMs might enable new optimised chips: https://arxiv.org/html/2402.17764v101 Mar 2024 16:06 +0000at://did:plc:wouw7yg3edklripd65lpk2mf/app.bsky.feed.post/3kmniaucilz2d