Cut (archaeology)

Cut (archaeology)
Fig 1. Saxon pit half sectioned

In Archaeology and archeological stratification a cut or truncation is a context that represents a moment in time when other archaeological deposits were removed for the creation of some feature such as a ditch or pit. In laymans terms a cut can be thought of a hole that was dug in the past, though cut also applies to other parts of the archaeological record such as horizontal truncations like terraced ground. A cut context is sometimes referred to as a "negative context" as opposed to a "positive context". The term denotes that a cut has removed material from the archaeological record or natural at the time of its creation as opposed to a positive context which adds material to the archaeological record. A cut has zero thickness and no material properties of its own and is defined by the limits of other contexts. Cuts are seen in the record by virtue of the difference between the material it was cut through and the material that back fills it. This difference is seen as an "edge" by the archaeologists on site. This is shown in the picture above (Fig 1.), where a half sectioned Saxon pit has had half its backfill removed and we can clearly see a difference between the ground the pit was cut into and the material originally filling the pit . Sometimes these differences are not clear and an archaeologist must rely on experience and insight to discover cuts.

Contents

Re-cuts

Photographer takes a record shot of a horse burial in a Roman ditch re-cut

Re-cuts are cuts made within the confines or near confines of other cuts, often to regain the function of the original cut or harvest material from the original fill. Re-cuts are considered quite valuable as a source of information because they can shed insight on function and attitude over time. An example of re-cutting would be a roadside ditch being re-cut and emptied of silt and detritus as a form of maintenance. Conversely, a roadside ditch that is never re-cut gives a certain impression about the attitude towards the investment in infrastructure the road represents. Re-cuts by their nature are hard to discern because the re-cut can truncate the original cut in part and be completely with in the confines of the original fill in other parts. They can even be absent from the record. Cutting is the reason why not all past activity on a site leaves traces of its existence in the sequence

Fig 2

Hypothetical ditch re-cuts shown in section

Fig 2 shows how a ditch re-cut with at least two re-cuts may appear when viewed in section. It is possible that numerous other re-cuts took place and were truncated out of the archaeological record by one or more of the re-cuts that has survived.

See also

References

  • The MoLAS archaeological site manual MoLAS, London 1994. ISBN 0-904818-40-3. Rb 128pp. bl/wh

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cut — may refer to: The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely directed force Contents 1 Mathematics 2 Computing 3 …   Wikipedia

  • Archaeology of the Cross and Crucifix —     Archæology of the Cross and Crucifix     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Archæology of the Cross and Crucifix     I. PRIMITIVE CRUCIFORM SIGNS     The sign of the cross, represented in its simplest form by a crossing of two lines at right angles,… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • ARCHAEOLOGY — The term archaeology is derived from the Greek words archaios ( ancient ) and logos ( knowledge, discourse ) and was already used in ancient Greek literature in reference to the study of ancient times. In its modern sense it has come to mean the… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Archaeology — For the magazine about archaeology, see Archaeology (magazine). Excavations at the site of Gran Dolina, in the Atapuerca Mountains, Spain, 2008 Archaeology, or archeology[1] (from Greek ἀρχαιολογία, archaiologia …   Wikipedia

  • archaeology — archaeologist, n. /ahr kee ol euh jee/, n. 1. the scientific study of historic or prehistoric peoples and their cultures by analysis of their artifacts, inscriptions, monuments, and other such remains, esp. those that have been excavated. 2. Rare …   Universalium

  • Excavation (archaeology) — The term archaeological excavation has a double meaning.# Excavation is the best known and most commonly used within the science of archaeology. In this sense it is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. # The term is… …   Wikipedia

  • Fill (archaeology) — In archaeology fills are contexts representing material that has accumulated or has been deposited into a cut feature such as ditch or pit of some kind. Fills are an important part of the archaeological record as their formation and composition… …   Wikipedia

  • Relationship (archaeology) — An archaeological relationship is the position in space and by implication, in time, of an object or context with respect to another. This is determined, not by linear measurement but by determining the sequence of their deposition which arrived… …   Wikipedia

  • Feature (archaeology) — Feature in archaeology and especially excavation has several different but allied meanings. A feature is a collection of one or more contexts representing some human non portable activity that generally has a vertical characteristic to it in… …   Wikipedia

  • Spit (archaeology) — In the field of archaeology, a spit is a unit of archaeological excavation with an arbitrarily assigned measurement of depth and extent. It is a method of excavation employed without regard to the archaeological stratigraphy that may (or may not) …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”