Digging up the Past : An Introduction to Archaeological Excavation

This concise, readable, well-illustrated introduction to methods of excavation describes a technique that is essential for almost all kinds of archaeology. It is aimed at professional and amateur archaeologists, at students at all levels and at everyone who wants to know how archaeological evidence is discovered. John Collis's book presents new ideas on excavation techniques and challenges traditional approaches to site organization and recording. He uses his 40 years of excavation experience to recommend practical solutions to procedural and interpretive problems, and he considers the impact of computerization and other technical innovations. But he also recalls the history and development of archaeological excavation which provides a background to the methods employed today. He looks in detail at the selection and preparation of archaeological sites, and at the removal, storage and analysis of finds in their context. The best approaches to the excavation of wooden and stone buildings are described, and a chapter is devoted to the treatment of burials and skeletal remains. Diagrams illustrate the techniques involved and the book includes a fascinating selection of photographs showing excavations in progress in Britain, Europe and America. This practical, common-sense guide should find a place on the bookshelf of everyone who practises archaeology on a professional or amateur basis, and it will be illuminating reading for anyone who wants to understand how archaeologists can recover the past by digging in the soil.