Archaeological Methods

REL 101
Dr. Victor H. Matthews
 Archaeology Defined
• Archaeology is the study of ancient artifacts,
whether they be material remains (e.g.,
ceramics) or textual (e.g., the Bible).

• Archaeology has very real limitations, chief of

which is the destructive nature of time, the
elements, and successive inhabitants of the
region who systematically reused building
materials and dug pits through ancient
occupation layers.
Ancient Near East
 Archaeology and
Interpretation
• Once an excavation has begun the findings may not
accord with what we consider to be logical and may
require continual reinterpretation. Remember that only
the ancients truly understand the logic of their material
remains (emic perspective).

• It is inappropriate to assign a function or meaning to an

artifact or site just because we think it is likely or stands
to reason (etic perspective).
Interpreting Artifacts
Interpreting Data
• Since archaeology is
a destructive science
and non-repeatable,
we must accept the
limitations inherent to
our current scientific
methods and our own
record keeping.
 Archaeology and
Interpretation
• As we excavate we
communicate with the material
remains of ancient people.
There is a continuous dialogue
in which we interact, starting
with a plan and a set of
questions, but changing it and
them to meet the realities of
what is actually discovered. If
we only seek to find what we
expect, then that is all that we
will find.
 Archaeology & Interpretation
• Archaeologists lay out
excavation grids and dig
square holes in order to
determine stratigraphy and
control the flow of data. By
design and due to the realities
of financing fieldwork, no site
is completely excavated and in
most cases only about 10-15%
is ever uncovered and
analyzed.
 Archaeology and
Interpretation
• It is inappropriate to try to
force the biblical narrative
to conform to an
archaeological model,
and it is equally
inappropriate to limit
archaeological
investigation so that it is
forced to conform to the
biblical narrative.
Interpreting Text and Artifact
Interpreting Data
 Before You Dig
Conduct a Survey of the Site
Put Together the Team
 Excavation Team
• Includes the director, area supervisors, square
supervisors, and volunteers
• It is seldom operates as a democracy.
• Obtain the services of an architect and various scientific
experts and if possible have them visit the site and
examine the material remains.
• Place a person in charge of cleaning, sorting, preparing,
and recording the daily finds.
 Preparing the Site
• Once the excavation plan has
been prepared by the Director
and senior staff, the first step is
to clear the site of the
vegetation that has grown
since the last season. This
procedure facilitates
photography, makes surface
features stand out, and gets
the team used to working
together in a sometimes
difficult climate.
Excavation Methods
• Ten or fifteen meter
squares are laid out with
string and sand bags and
initial levels are taken so
that the supervisors will
know starting and ending
points for each day’s
work and they can
determine the exact
depth at which significant
finds are made.
Excavation Methods
• Excavation begins by
breaking the soil with
shovels and picks, but
this may quickly turn to
finer work using brushes,
ice picks, and trowels
when an artifact is
discovered or a floor is
found signaling the
emergence of a change
in stratigraphy.
Excavation Methods
• When an important
feature or artifact is
discovered, a level is
taken to determine
exact location within
the square.
 Excavation Methods
• Excavated soil is
screened to uncover
bones, carbonized
organic matter, small
pieces of pottery, or other
objects that might
otherwise be missed.

• Organic remains are later

tested using C14 dating
methods.
 Excavation Methods
• Unusual finds are also
photographed in situ to
establish a clear
provenance and provide
as much data as possible
for later interpretation.
 Excavation Methods

• All tagged buckets and boxes

are taken to the collection
supervisor for washing or
cleaning with an eye out for
inscriptions (ostraca) or for
diagnostic examples that will
help establish a ceramic
chronology of the site, indicate
possible trading activity, and in
the case of coins a clear date
for a particular stratum or
building.
 Restoration Methods
• Untreated Coin • Restored Coin
Recording Data
• All pottery and other
artifacts are placed in
tagged buckets or
boxes for later
examination. The tags
indicate which square
and at what level they
were found. The
recording process in the
field will be systematized
in later field reports by the
square and area
supervisors.
Analyzing Data
• At the end of the
excavation season, the
entire staff completes and
submits their field
notebooks and the senior
staff spends the next
several months
analyzing this data while
the artifacts are sent to
laboratories for scientific
tests and classification.
 Excavation Methods

• Publication and Presentation of the season’s findings

should follow as quickly as possible.

• A final report of the excavation of the site over a series of

seasons should appear in a timely manner for the benefit
of the scholarly community.

• Senior staff should publish articles and present papers

on the findings.
Dissemination of Data