Attempting to catalog a complex megalithic site using a standard field notebook is how critical structural relationships get lost in translation. When you are standing in a dry riverbed trying to document an ancient fish trap, generic text descriptions like "curved rocks" are academically useless. If you cannot explicitly lock down the morphology, the presumed function, and the exact dimensional metrics of a stone feature in the field, you cannot prove its anthropogenic origin back in the lab. This Memento system acts as a rigid typological filter, forcing raw geology into structured, actionable data.
The Cost of Typological Chaos
The primary failure point in field surveying is the misclassification of ambiguous structures. This database intercepts that problem at the moment of discovery.
Before any measurements are taken, the recorder must define the "Type of Stone Feature"—forcing a hard classification between a "Cairn", "Rockwell", "Channel/Canal", or "Fish Trap". It instantly asks a critical structural question: "Are natural features incorporated?". By combining this with the "Presumed Function" (Resource procurement, Boundary marker, Ceremonial) and the precise "Material Type" (Basalt, Granite, Sandstone), the template strips away subjective guesswork. You aren't just logging rocks; you are mapping out the engineering intent of an ancient builder.
Isolating the Hydraulic Architecture
What makes this system exceptionally powerful is its dedicated logic for complex structural variants like water management systems. A stone wall is statically measured, but a "Channel/ Canal" requires different parameters.
The database adapts, forcing the surveyor to classify if the channel is "Modified", "Excavated", or if it "Follows natural watercourse". For a "Fish Trap", the structural taxonomy demands you categorize it as "V-shaped", "Straight", "Alignment", or "Retainer walls", while also logging the exact "Number of courses". This isn't just about recording what survives; it is about reverse-engineering the hydraulic mechanics of the site.
The Micro-Metrics of Grinding
While half of the database handles massive structural layouts, the "Grinding Groove" module is entirely dedicated to micro-abrasion analysis.
If a site was used for tool production or seed processing, the system captures up to four distinct grinding grooves in a single record. For "Groove 1" through "Groove 4", it demands the "Section Shape", "Length", "Width", and "Depth" down to the millimeter. This granular approach ensures that you don't just note the presence of a grinding stone; you capture the exact volumetric data needed to calculate the intensity and duration of its historical use. Accompanied by "Component Plan" and "Component Profile" imagery, the record becomes an indisputable digital twin of the physical artifact.