Methods & Aims in Archaeology

by W. M. Flinders Petrie

And not only should such a record be made at the time, but the record should be presented finally in an intelligible form. To empty the contents of note-books on a reader’s head is not publishing. A mass of statements which have no point, and do not appear to lead to any conclusion or generalisation, cannot be regarded as an efficient publication. The meaning of each fact should be made apparent, and the relative importance of the details should be kept in view, so as to present the conclusions as a picture, in which each touch is in its proper place, and where each point adds to the whole without being disproportionately treated. Thus the final result is a statement much like what might have been written by a contemporary of the times in question; proved and enforced at each point by the various facts discovered.

In many cases our materials are not enough to give such a picture; and then, either the blanks must be noted and the limits of uncertainty stated, or else, at the worst, the facts must be grouped, and their results stated, leaving the question with two or more solutions open to future settlement.

Thus the final result to be aimed at is a picture full of detail and accuracy; and, where material is insufficient, with the limits of doubt clearly laid down, so that fresh material can at once be incorporated, and its value seen and grasped, so soon as it may be discovered.

Marking.

A very needful part of the recording is the marking of the objects with their source. Generally each part of a site is distinguished by a letter, and each group of objects found in that part by a number; thus a cemetery may be E, another adjoining it on different ground F, yet another G, a temple site T, and so on, sometimes using up the whole alphabet on a varied district. Then E 17, F 8, G 65, will be different tombs in those cemeteries, as denoted in the note-book and on the objects. Every bone of a skeleton should be marked, and always on one fixed position for each bone. It is best to trust to writing the reference with China ink on the base or back of most objects; for pottery and coarse things Brunswick black thinned with turpentine is best; for dark stones scratching the number is safest, and also for wet pottery at the time it is found. Jewellers’ tag-labels with strings are useful for small objects. It is very unsafe to trust labelling only to the wrapping papers, which may be all thrown away; separate labels should be wrapped with the things if they cannot be marked otherwise.

Nature of notes.

The nature of the notes must vary with each kind of material and each period; but we may here give some examples of the nature of such records.

Town Plan.—Survey of every wall of each house; thickness of each wall (easily neglected); reveals of doorways; doorsills if of stone; sizes of bricks; levels of top and base of each wall if any rebuilt or superimposed; contents of each chamber, note if on floor or in filling; objects buried in floors; special note of position of exactly dated objects; copies of any frescoes or decoration.

Tomb.—Position relative to other tombs. Size of pit, direction, depth. Position of chamber. Filling intact, or estimate of time that it has stood open anciently by the weathering of the sides. Objects found loose in filling. Chamber plan. Primary or secondary burial. Position of body, head direction, face direction, attitude of body and limbs. Position of beads and small objects on body. Note if beads follow any pattern or order; record order of as long groups of beads as possible for rethreading; wrappings, amount and nature. Coffin or cartonnage; inscription and figures, if any, often need copying or photographing before removal, as they may fall to pieces. Skull and jaw to be removed for measurement; or, if in rarer periods, whole skeleton to be preserved. Position and nature of all offerings and objects placed in the tomb. Copies of any inscriptions or paintings on the walls of the tomb.

To such outlines of the usual character of records are added any special details which are but rarely found; but the above will serve to remind an excavator of what must always be looked for.