Single context recording

Single context recording was developed in the 1970's by the Museum of London amongst others (notably at Winchester and York, where the system was first used) and has become the defacto recording system in many parts of the world and is especially suited to the complexities of deep urban archaeology and the process of Stratification.Each excavated context is given a unique "context number" and is recorded by type on a context sheet and perhaps being drawn on a plan and/or a section. Depending on time constraints and importance contexts may also be photographed, but in this case a grouping of contexts and their associations are the purpose of the photography. Finds from each context are bagged and labelled with their context number and site code for later cross reference work carried out post excavation. The height above sea level of pertinent points on a context, such as the top and bottom of a wall are taken and added to plans sections and context sheets. Heights are recorded with a dumpy level or total station by relation to the site temporary benchmark (abbr. T.B.M). Samples of deposits from contexts are sometimes also taken, for later environmental analysis or for scientific dating.

The single context recording system in practice

Contexts being excavated are recorded on context sheets which vary in style depending on practitioner but in general share characteristics. Most will have sections for composition of soils or profiles for cuts. it is common practice to have special sheets available to record contexts denoted by; masonry, timber and skeletons listing the many variables that are of interest to the archaeologists both onsite and post excavation. A plan is also made that conforms to grid squares (usually setup as a 5m grid).

Revealing the sequence

Single context recording of a stratigraphically excavated sequence evolves into an overlay of planned contexts that build a harris matrix during excavation. "(see Stratification (archeology) and Harris matrix)" This is demonstrated in the gallery below of a hypothetical and abstract 5 step sequence of contexts. The excavation starts with the planning and removal of a deposit in step 1 and continues down through a sequence of 4 cut features. Note how only the stratigaphic relationships build into the matrix as the excavation progresses rather than all the physical relationships. "(For planning convention styles see archaeological plan)"

In reality the process is more complex and involves many more contexts for the series of features shown in the diagram. This is because the contexts representing the fills have been omitted for simplicity and the matrix shown is more akin to a Carver matrix.

Critics of single context recording

Critics of single context recording point out that it encourages a lazy attitude towards attempts to phase the site while excavation is in progress and diminshes the incentative for archaeologists to interpret what they are digging beyond the boundaries of the context being excavated rather than trying to understand it using the entire area of the site for insight. It is argued this lack of interpretation leads to thoughtless use of the law of superposition creating chronological anomalies from features and contexts of a tunneling nature such as drain backfills, buried waterfront tiebacks or natural processes. Counter critics argue that while this is a possibility no archaeologist needs to be transfixed by the recording system if they are faced with a stratigraphic conundrum and deviation from a pure single context recording regime is not a sin moreover single context recording is not an excuse for not attempting to view the site as a whole during excavation.

See also

*Archaeological context
*Archaeological plan
*Archaeological association
*Relationship (archaeology)
*Cut (archaeology)
*Archaeological section
*Feature (archaeology)
*Excavation

External links

* [http://www.assemblage.group.shef.ac.uk/3/3chad.htm Adrian Chadwick - Archaeology at the Edge of Chaos: Further Towards Reflexive Excavation Methodologies]

References

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