Archaeological Recording and Documentation

Because excavation destroys the evidence it studies, the written, drawn, and photographic record created during fieldwork is the permanent archive on which all later interpretation depends.

Definition

The standardized creation of textual, graphic, and photographic records of archaeological deposits, structures, and finds, producing an archive that substitutes for the deposits destroyed during excavation.

Scope

This topic covers the systems used to document archaeological fieldwork: context sheets and standardized recording forms, plans and section drawings, photographic and increasingly photogrammetric records, the registration of finds and samples, and the compilation of the site archive that allows excavation results to be checked and reanalyzed.

Core questions

• What information must be recorded for each context and find?
• How are standardized recording systems such as context sheets structured?
• How do plans, sections, and photographs complement written records?
• What constitutes an adequate, reusable site archive?

Key theories

Preservation by record

The principle that, since excavation is destructive, the documentary archive is the primary preserved product of fieldwork and must be complete and consistent enough to allow independent reinterpretation.

Standardized single-context recording systems

The use of pro-forma context sheets and conventions, as codified in manuals such as the Museum of London Archaeological Site Manual, to ensure that records are consistent across excavators and projects.

History

Recording evolved from the notebook-and-sketch traditions of early excavators toward standardized systems in the later 20th century, when urban rescue archaeology demanded consistent, single-context documentation. Manuals such as the Museum of London Archaeological Site Manual became influential templates, and recording has since incorporated digital databases, total stations, and photogrammetry.

Debates

Objectivity versus interpretation in recording

Scholars dispute whether recording can or should be a neutral capture of facts or is inevitably interpretive, raising questions about reflexive recording methods that document the excavator's reasoning.

Key figures

• Steve Roskams
• Philip Barker
• Edward C. Harris

Seminal works

• roskams2001
• molas1994

Frequently asked questions

What is a context sheet?

A context sheet is a standardized form on which an excavator records all the information about a single context, including its description, dimensions, stratigraphic relationships, finds, and samples.

Why is documentation so important in archaeology?

Because excavation destroys the deposits it investigates, the records made during digging are the only lasting evidence, so incomplete documentation permanently loses information.