1. Excavation Stratigraphy: Digging layer by layer to preserve chronological context. Context Sheets: Recording each layer, features and find in detail Trowel Work: Gentle scraping to reveal features without damaging artefacts. Planning Frames: Used to draw site features to scale.
2. Surveying & Mapping Tape & Offset: Manual measurement for small sites. Total Station & GPS: Precise digital mapping of features and finds, with coordinates. Site Grid: Establishes spatial control for excavation and recording.
3. Non-Invasive Techniques (more professional) Geophysical Survey: Includes magnetometry and resistivity to detect buried features. Lidar & Aerial Photography: Reveals landscape changes and hidden structures. Fieldwalking: Systematic surface collection to identify artefact concentrations.
4. Artefact Handling In Situ Photography: Captures context before removal. Bagging & Labelling: Ensures traceability of finds. Finds Hut Protocols: Washing, sorting, marking, and cataloguing artefacts.
Ecofacts: Bones, charcoal and plant material that reveal diet and climate.
Memory Ledger: Context Sheet, now ritualised for the archive. The parchment-toned page holds space for soil, silence and story, with the sigil or symbol anchoring each entry like a seal of custodianship.
You’ll find: Context Number, Date, Custodian, Site Name, to mark the threshold.
Stratigraphic Description – for soil type, depth and adjacent layers.
Interpretive Notes – to hypothesise meaning and emotional tone.
Custodial Reflection – a space for poetic witnessing.
