Techniques of Archaeological Excavation

226 Pages·1993·36.53 MB·English

by  Philip Barker

Techniques of Archaeological Excavation
‘We owe the dead nothing but the truth’
Voltaire, Letters on Oedipus

iii
iv
Techniques of ARCHAEOLOGICAL
EXCAVATION
Third edition
Philip Barker
London and New York
Acknowledgements
Thanks are still due to all those many colleagues and friends who contributed towards the first two editions of Techniques of
Archaeological Excavation and to Understanding Archaeological Excavation, since these form the basis for this new book.
In addition, I must also thank Heather Bird for Figs 2, 3, 4 and 74; Philip Rahtz for Figs 15 and 30; Peter Barker of
Stratascan for Figs 18, 21 and 28; GeoQuest Associates for Fig. 19; English Heritage for Fig. 23; Simon Buteux and the
Birmingham Univer sity Field Archaeology Unit and Shropshire County Council for the section on the Wroxeter Hinterland
Project; Dominic Powlesland for the section on the Heslerton Parish Project; Hereford and Worcester County Council
Archaeology Section for Figs 62 and 82; Tony Wilmot for the section on the Birdoswald Excavation; Ed Harris for Fig. 80;
Roger White for the section on the Bread Oven from Wroxeter; Richard Selby for the section on Geophysical Information
Systems and Peter Scholefield for Fig. 84.
To all who have dug with me
First published 1977 by B.T. Batsford Ltd
Second edition 1982
Third edition 1993
Routledge is an imprint of the
Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
© Philip Barker 1977, 1982, 1993
Produced for B.T.Batsford Ltd by
Chase Production Services, Chipping Norton
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by
any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying
and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the
British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the
Library of Congress
ISBN 0-203-44217-2 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-75041-1 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0-415-15152-X (Print Edition)
Contents
Acknowledgements vi
List of illustrations x
Prefaces xii
1 Introduction: the unrepeatable experiment 1
2 How archaeological sites are formed 3
3 The development of excavation techniques 24
4 Pre-excavation research 32
5 Problems and strategies 51
6 The processes of excavation 71
7 Rescue and salvage excavation 99
8 Recognizing and recording the evidence 113
9 The recording of pottery and small finds 141
10 The interpretation of the evidence 150
11 Scientific aids 176
12 Synthesis: the history of the site 183
Glossary 196
Bibliography 198
Index 206