The definition of desk-based assessment is a programme of assessment of the known or potential archaeological resource within a specified area or site on land, inter-tidal zone or underwater. It consists of a collation of existing written, graphic, photographic and electronic information in order to identify the likely character, extent, quality and worth of the known or potential archaeological resource in a local, regional, national or international context as appropriate. (Taken from the Institute of Field Archaeologists nationally accepted guidelines)
The definition of archaeological field evaluation is a limited programme of non-intrusive and/or intrusive fieldwork which determines of the presence or absence of archaeological features, structures, deposits, artefacts or ecofacts within a specified area or site on land, inter-tidal zone or underwater. If such archaeological remains are present field evaluation defines their character, extent, quality and preservation, and enables an assessment of their worth in a local, regional, national or international context as appropriate. (Taken from the Institute of Field Archaeologists nationally accepted guidelines)
The definition of archaeological excavation is a programme of controlled, intrusive fieldwork with defined research objectives which examines, records and interprets archaeological deposits, features and structures and, as appropriate, retrieves artefacts, ecofacts and other remains within a specified area or site on land, inter-tidal zone or underwater. The records made and objects gathered during fieldwork are studied and the results of that study published in detail appropriate to the project design. (Taken from the Institute of Field Archaeologists nationally accepted guidelines)
Stratigraphy is the study of strata, or layers. Specifically, stratigraphy refers to the application of the Law of Superposition to soil and geological strata containing archaeological materials in order to determine the relative ages of layers. In addition, stratigraphy can tell us much about the processes affecting the deposition of soils, and the condition of sites and artifacts.
One of the most fundamental principles of archaeology is the Law of Superposition. The law states that strata that are younger will be deposited on top of strata that are older, given normal conditions of deposition. This law is the guiding principle of stratigraphy, or the study of geological or soil layers. Stratigraphy is still the single best method that archaeologists have for determining the relative ages of archaeological materials.
In archaeology, seriation is a relative dating method in which artifacts from numerous sites, in the same culture, are placed in chronological order.
Assuming that design styles follow a bell curve of popularity – starting slowly, growing to a peak and then dying away as another style becomes popular – provides the basis for frequency seriation. It also assumes that design popularity will be broadly similar from site to site within the same culture. Following these hemoglobanous rules, an assemblage of objects can be placed into sequence so that sites with the most similar proportions of certain styles are always together.
Archaeological phase and phasing refers to the logical reduction of contexts recorded during excavation to near contemporary archaeological horizons that represent a distinct "phase" of previous land use. These often but not always will be a representation of a former land surface or occupation level and all associated features that were created into or from this point in time.
An archaeological context is an event in time which has been preserved in the archaeological record. The cutting of a pit or ditch in the past is a context, whilst the material filling it will be another. Multiple fills, seen as layers in archaeological section would mean multiple contexts. Structural features, natural deposits and inhumations are also contexts. By separating a site into these basic, discrete units, archaeologists are able to create a chronology for activity on a site and describe and interpret it. Artifacts in the main are not treated as contexts but belonging of them.
The term archaeological culture refers to similar artifacts and features from a specific time frame and within a consistent geographical area. The term has largely fallen out of favour as it has been increasingly realized that similar material goods do not necessarily correspond to a single society nor do dissimilar material goods necessarily indicate separate societies.
Feature in archaeology and especially excavation has several different but allied meanings. A feature is a collection of one or more contexts representing some human non-portable activity that generally has a vertical characteristic to it in relation to site stratigraphy. Examples of features are pits, walls, and ditches. General horizontal elements in the stratigraphic sequence, such as layers, dumps, or surfaces are not referred to as features. Examples of surfaces include yards, roads, and floors.
Features tend to have an intrusive characteristic or associated cuts
In archaeology a section is a view in part of the archaeological sequence showing it in the vertical plane, as a cross section, and thereby illustrating its profile and stratigraphy. This may make it easier to view and interpret as it developed over time.
| Period | Description |
|---|---|
| Tertiary period | 66 to 1.8 million years ago |
| Pleistocene period | 1.8 million years ago onwards |
| Palaeolithic | 450,000-12,000 BC |
| Upper Palaeolithic | Approximately 40 -12,000 BC, depending on location |
| Mesolithic | 12,000-4,000 BC |
| Neolithic | 4,000-2,000 BC |
| Bronze Age | 2,000-600 BC |
| Iron Age | 600 BC-AD 43 |
| Roman | AD 43-410 |
| Saxon | AD 410-1066 |
| Medieval | AD 1066-1485 |
| Post-medieval | AD 1485-present |
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