How do archaeologists work before a big discovery?

Taking advantage of the fact that International Archeology Day was last July , what better tribute than to review the history of the archaeological research project. From paper and pencil, to the pick or the chisel . Filippo Palizzi () Excavation painting at Pompeii by Filippo Palizzi () And the work of the archaeologist is not only in the field ; You have to start by secluding yourself in archives, libraries or town halls to review the various written sources that may present evidence of the existence of a site . Some of these sources are from classical authors who locate relevant cities or tombs in a specific space, or from archaeological letters that show discovered sites, excavated or not.

Afterwards, it is essential to consult current and past geographic archives to be able to locate them in a specific space. When the office work ends, and our suspicions are to a certain extent confirmed in writing, that is when Gmail Email List we must materialize our starting hypothesis . Our hypothesis will change depending on the course of the action, and it is something that must be assumed as soon as possible. Therefore, after formulating our first idea about what we are looking for and consequently, what we want to find , we only have to get a specialized team and a promoter or public entity that endorses our project. With all this and an adequate work organization … We are on the right track! Once our site is located in a certain space, it is time to set foot on the ground to check a priori that our hypothesis is close to what was proposed. This is called prospecting , a method that is increasingly used and in future blog posts we will see its relevance in the archeology of the future .

If the prospecting gives the green light ... the most complex thing comes: the excavation . Remembering the definition of Renfrew and Bahn, it should be added that excavation is the destructive way of recovering historical contexts. Therefore, they are unique and, consequently, irreversible. To proceed with excavation, the formation of the soil must be taken into account , because it will define the state of the site and what it contains. Thus, our key will be stratigraphy . Cake that imitates the layers of earth in a desert landscape. Cake that imitates the layers of the earth of a desert landscape Stratigraphy is something intrinsic in the very definition of Archeology as a scientific discipline , and the different trends in the application of the method have given importance to both the horizontal plane (context) and the vertical plane typology.

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