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Archaeologists remove accumulated
material phase by phase and recover pottery, bones,
shells and many other finds as they dig. To ensure they
collect everything, it is usual to sieve the soil after
this to find the smaller pieces that may have been missed
when digging.
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Using scientific notebooks and
specially designed recording sheets, the
archaeologists record every detail of the
soil and other materials they remove. Removing
the soil that forms the 'archaeology' means
it will disappear forever, so we must ensure
every little detail is written down, drawn and
photographed. This is called 'preservation
by record' and ensures that things accumulated
over centuries on the ground can be
transformed into
documentary and visual records to preserve them
forever.
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The things that we find are usually
encrusted with soil and will need to be cleaned so that
we can interpret their meaning. Pottery is one of the
best indicators used by archaeologists to understand
the dates of the things that we find. For example, if
we find a collapsed roof and walls and beneath these
find pottery from the Late Bronze Age lying on the floor,
it is most probable that the building we have found
collapsed in the Late Bronze Age.
Sometimes,
we may find that there are many floors one over the
other, and the things we find on or in the lowest floor
is most often the date that a building was constructed. |
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All archaeological features are
drawn and photographed. We also draw a vertical picture
called a 'section' which is basically a slice through
all the different periods, each one is visible sitting
on top of the other.
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Finds from the field are brought to the apotheke
/ post-excavation laboratory where they are checked-in
and prepared for processing.
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All of the finds from the site
are carefully washed. Finds are then laid out on a mesh
to dry, away from direct sunlight. |
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When the finds are all
dried, they are laid out in neat groups according to
where they were found on the site and pottery specialists
then examine the pieces. They can tell from the shape
and decoration the date of each piece, and usually what
is was used for. This helps us to understand the activity
taking place where it was found.
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Specialists take careful notes on all types
of finds and these are used to tell the story about
past activity at the site. For example, human bones
can tell us details about the lifestyles of people,
what they looked like and even what they ate! It can
also tell us details of the age and sex of people.
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Sometimes, finds will need special
treatment as they can be suffering from decay or corrosion.
These are sent to a specialist conservator who will
use chemical or mechanical treatments to stabilise the
material. Conservators can also mend broken things,
such as pottery.
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Back on the archaeological
site, conservation work is also required to stabilise
and protect structures uncovered during excavation,
such as walls or even sometimes delicate things like
surviving wall plaster.
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All finds are photographed,
drawn and then prepared for archiving and storage.
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Drawings are also made of architecture
and structural features on the site.
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Digital records are made of all
finds also to create a complete digital archive of all
of the archaeology discovered at the site.
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| Finally (and no, we don't do this part EVERY day!!)
all of this information is distilled and interpreted
to create a detailed story of the human activity on
the archaeological site and this is published in books
and academic articles. The bulky information generated
during the excavation is also published online and on
portable digital media to accompany the publications. |
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