The Principles of Excavation

This session is about is about what happens on site, how we dig, and how we record what we find. There will be a talk from our Community Archaeologist, Jane Harrison, followed by questions and discussion.

We will consider the following questions, amongst others:

1. Excavation is destructive. How do archaeologists ensure as much as possible is learnt from a dig?
2. What are the various approaches to unpicking a site?
3. What are the stages of the excavation process?
4. Why is archaeological stratigraphy central to the practice of excavation?
5. Excavation has its own terminology. Find out what these mean on an archaeological site: context (two meanings); stratigraphy; cut; relationship; deposit; fill; plan; section.
6. How are sites recorded?

I will tie the sessions to WallCAP sites and objectives as far as I can, but also use examples from other sites which I have excavated. The sessions are not just for those of you keen to work on site – or who have already been involved in excavation – but also for anyone who wants to understand why excavation is important and how an excavation works.

The session will be live and held online via Zoom. We will email you with the Zoom joining details by 3pm the day before the event.