ABSTRACT
The decreasing cost of computing power is, however, gradually bringing image handling down to a level which archaeological organizations can begin to contemplate. Some aspects of the technology are relatively new, and are still facing problems of development, let alone marketing. Other technologies have been around for decades, but have only recently been liberated by the availability of powerful, low-cost microcomputers to control them. Regardless of the development path of the delivery systems, the integration of text and graphics by computer will become increasingly affordable. Now is the time to address some of the issues surrounding the handling of images in archaeology, a discipline in which visual information is of vital importance (Martlew 1989). Unlike text, images offer a mode of communication which transcends language barriers. It is therefore appropriate to consider the storage, manipulation and transfer of visual data in archaeology at an international level.
