Archaeology Underwater: The NAS Guide to Principles and Practice

POST-FIELDWORKANALYSIS AND ARCHIVING 187

impossible to guess what questions or analytical techniques
will be applied to material in the future. Therefore, as far
as possible, everything should be included in the archive.
It would be arrogant to think that all present-day archae-
ological and forensic techniques will be acceptable in the
future. If the decision is taken to disturb a site for either
rescue or research motives, future generations are denied
the opportunity to study the evidence in situ. At the very
least, therefore, the full results of the excavation must
be left for posterity in the site archive.
The concept of the ‘site-archive’ has been described as
containing all the evidence gathered during fieldwork,
which must be quantified, ordered, indexed and internally
consistent (English Heritage, 1991). The first objective of
the site archive is to maintain the integrity of the primary
field-record, which may contain:

• original record forms;


• reports on site surveys, such as text and illustrations
  of specialist pre-excavation survey reports (e.g.
  remote sensing, sediment sampling, diver search);


• all drawings produced on site (the drawings not being
  inked-in or amended in any way after the fieldwork
  is completed);


• all photographs produced on site, above or below
  water;


• all artefacts and ecofacts recovered from the site
  (e.g. human bone, animal bone and samples result-
  ing from basic processing);


• copies of correspondence relating to fieldwork;


• interim report(s) (any interim reports, whether
  published or produced for restricted circulation).

To make the final archive readily accessible and usable
by other researchers, it should also contain:

• a brief account of the events and personnel of the
  project, with a summary of the results;


• a copy of the research design and excavation strate-
  gies (with an explanation of any changes during the
  course of the work) which should also include an
  assessment of the success of the research;


• a description of the understanding of the formation
  of the site, the character of the objects and structure;


• an explanation of the archive structure and contents,
  including a breakdown of documents and records
  present;


• the metadata relating to any databases or spread-
  sheets;


• a copy of the published report.

Every effort should be made to ensure that computer-
ized records are in a format that can be easily transferred

to new future technologies (i.e. ‘future-proofing’ – see chap-

ter 8). The same applies to photography. This will help

maintain accessibility in the future and help to minimize

the maintenance costs of the archive. For an archive to be

of use, it must not only be physically preserved, but must

also be organized in a logical manner, to enable other

researchers to easily interrogate the resources (Brown

and Perrin, 2000). For a simple description of the com-

ponent parts of an archaeological archive, see MAP2

(English Heritage, 1991).

The site archive, together with the finds, has to be pre-

pared for presentation at a level suitable for consultation.

This should aim to make the evidence comprehensible to

those who have never seen the site but wish to, for example:

• reassess the results;


• prepare programmes of work on adjacent or con-
  temporary sites; and


• produce works on topics that include results from
  your investigation.

It is important that a suitable repository is arranged for

the archive as soon as practicable. As a general rule the

arrangements for deposit of the archive and its access-

ibility should be made at the project-planning stage

(chapter 5), before any work or research is carried out on

the site. If the results of a project cannot be made avail-

able within a reasonable period of time, the director has

to consider whether the excavation or investigation has been

justified. Information that has not been disseminated is

no more useful than if it had remained uncollected. In

Figure 19.5 One of the Mary Rose Trust organic stores.

Following conservation, all objects are stored on acid-free

tissue in environmentally controlled conditions with daily tem-

perature and humidity checks. (Photo: Mary Rose Trust)