The Godzonia project uses a cemetery to gather data and assess the value and limitations of this information on the people buried there.
About the course: A study of the main features of Roman social history from the time of Augustus to AD 200. Topics include class structure, law, education, the family, slavery, poverty, and public entertainment.
Course coordinator: Professor Jeff Tatum
Assessment details: The task of the Godzonia project was to collect the surface data of a section in a cemetery, compile it into a report, and include an analysis of the population data and other elements of the site. We were asked to observe the monumental form and any other unique details of the memorials on each plotted section. Finally, we discussed the value and limitations of the data in terms of providing information on the people buried there.
Rachael compiled and analysed data from a Wellington Cemetery and included figures of tombstone inscriptions and design in her assessment of the society and people who created them.
"This sample group provided a fairly accurate localised picture of Anglican New Zealand society, as it was in urban Wellington from 1844-1961," she writes.
