Documentation of excavations

Many finds are inevitably destroyed by an archaeological excavation and can only be interpreted afterwards with the help of exact documentation of the excavation. If a section has been completely excavated down to the natural geological soil, then it is filled in again or else shown to visitors by preserving, restoring or reconstruction. After the field work, the finds have to be evaluated on desk and drawing table. The last steps are a lucid presentation of the scientific results in situ and publication of these results.

Exact documentation of an excavation includes photos, drawings, site notebooks, general plans and finds labels:

1. Immediately after the excavated surface has been cleaned, the finds are photographed from various angles. A board with details of site, date and section number as well as description of the area or profile is photographed together with the finds to aid later identification. North is indicated and a scale shows proportions.

2. Then a field drawing with all necessary measurements is made (scale usually 1:20). Predetermined colours and symbols indicate the different materials. Details of height such as the initial level and the level where the find was discovered are measured with the levelling staff and entered on a separate sheet.

3. The relevant details of each excavation area and all observations are entered in the site notebook, results described, additional sketches made, and all the details of the area and profiles listed. Information connected with the results that may be found in other sections and interpretations of the results are entered here as well. The objective report of the results is the basis of all further interpretation.

4. The numerous finds (pottery, bones, metal objects, glass, building materials) from each level are placed in separate finds crates. They are cleaned and finds labels attached, which describe where the finds were discovered. Each individual find is entered in the finds data base. All finds are stored and prepared for further scientific investigation.

After the archaeological field work, the finds have to be evaluated on desk and drawing table. First of all the field drawings (usually to a scale of 1:20) are reduced to a more manageable scale (1:200 or 1:500) and combined in a master plan: the detailed results from several walls become the straight lines in a ground-plan. The finds are evaluated and provide important references for the chronology of the different horizons.