Post-Excavation Analysis and Finds Processing
Post-excavation work transforms the cleaned, sorted, and quantified finds and records from a dig into analyzed, dated, and interpreted evidence ready for publication and archiving.
Definition
The laboratory and analytical phase of an archaeological project in which excavated finds and samples are processed, quantified, studied by specialists, and integrated with the stratigraphic record to produce interpretation.
Scope
This topic covers the stages following fieldwork: cleaning, marking, and cataloguing finds; quantifying and classifying artifacts such as pottery, lithics, and metalwork; integrating specialist reports on materials, environmental samples, and dating; and synthesizing context, stratigraphy, and finds into an interpretive site narrative and archive.
Core questions
- How are finds cleaned, catalogued, and quantified after excavation?
- How are artifact assemblages classified and dated?
- How are specialist analyses integrated with the stratigraphic sequence?
- How is the analyzed evidence synthesized into publication and a stable archive?
Key theories
- Quantification of assemblages
- Methods for counting and weighting fragmentary material such as pottery, including measures of vessel equivalents, so that assemblages from different contexts can be compared meaningfully.
- Integration of finds and stratigraphy
- The principle that artifacts gain interpretive value only when tied to their stratigraphic context, so post-excavation analysis must reunite specialist data with the site sequence.
History
As excavation became more systematic and produced ever larger assemblages, post-excavation analysis grew into a specialized, multidisciplinary phase requiring pottery, lithic, environmental, and dating specialists. Quantitative approaches, developed in the later 20th century and synthesized in works such as Pottery in Archaeology, made assemblage comparison more rigorous.
Debates
- How to quantify fragmentary assemblages
- Archaeologists debate which measures, such as sherd counts, weights, or estimated vessel equivalents, best represent the original quantity of material and allow valid comparison between contexts.
Key figures
- Clive Orton
- Paul Tyers
- Alan Vince
Related topics
Seminal works
- orton1993
- ortonhughes2013
Frequently asked questions
- What happens to finds after a dig?
- Finds are washed, marked, sorted, and catalogued, then quantified and studied by specialists, after which they are deposited with the site records in an archive or museum.
- Why quantify pottery and other finds?
- Quantification lets archaeologists compare assemblages between contexts and sites, supporting inferences about dating, function, and the intensity of past activity.