Smith, & Chapman - 1 Scratching the Surface: Using GIS to Understand Richmond Archaeology Jolene Smith, Virginia Department of Historic Resources Ellen Chapman, College of William & Mary [SLIDE 1] Introduction In 1985, the Virginia Commonwealth University Archaeological Research Center (or VCU-ARC), published the Richmond Metropolitan Area Archaeological Survey [2]. This two-volume, 400 page document was the culmination of a large regional survey, intended to be a resource for long range planning in Richmond (an independent city) and the surrounding counties of Chesterfield to the south of the James River and Henrico to the north. [SLIDE 2] This report was one of many large-scale regional planning surveys, also known as RP3 (Resource Protection Planning Process) Reports. By the end of the 1970s, the Cultural Resource Management (CRM) industry was coming into its own as states and localities initiated projects like this to comprehensively identify above- and below-ground historic properties to aid in compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act and other new legislation. While these RP3 reports did not always encounter an environment supportive of preservation environment, they do provide excellent regional archaeological data and a sense of priorities from three decades ago. This project uses new technological tools like geospatial software, database analysis, and open mapping in order to examine some general trends in Richmond’s archaeological landscape and to provide elements of the RMAAS dataset to contemporary archaeologists and preservation planners. Particularly, in this paper we will be focused on our use of land cover analysis to assess the likelihood of archaeological site destruction across the 40 planning units in the Richmond region, and our use of statewide data on archaeological surveys and data recovery projects to identify regional trends in archaeological work. [SLIDE 3] Archaeology in Richmond Richmond is located at the Fall Line of the James River, where the the coastal plain of Tidewater gives way to the low hills of the Piedmont Region. This map itself tells a story about