 Fig 1. Saxon pit half sectioned In Archaeology and archeological stratification a cut or truncation is a context that represents a moment in time when other archaeological deposits were removed for the creation of some feature such as a ditch or pit. in laymans terms a cut can be thought of a hole that was dug in the past, though cut also applies to other parts of the archaeological record such as horizontal truncations like terraced ground. A cut context is sometimes referred to as a "negative context" as opposed to a "positive context". The term denotes that a cut has removed material from the archaeological record or natural at the time of its creation as opposed to a positive context which adds material to the archaeological record. A cut has zero thickness and no material properties of its own and is defined by the limits of other contexts. Cuts are seen in the record by virtue of the difference between the material it was cut through and the material that back fills it. This difference is seen as an "edge" by the archaeologists onsite. this is shown In the picture Fig 1. where a half sectioned saxon pit has had half it's backfill removed and we can clearly see a difference between the ground the pit was cut into and the material originally filling the pit . Sometimes these differences are not clear and a archaeologist must rely on experience and insight to discover cuts. A section through a saxon pit, taken by user:adamsan 12 Aug 04 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
A section through a saxon pit, taken by user:adamsan 12 Aug 04 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
Archaeology, archeology, or archology (from the Greek words αÏχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech/discourse) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ...
Stratification is the building up of layers of deposits, and can have several variations of meaning: Social stratification, is the dividing of a society into levels based on wealth or power. ...
In archaeology, not only the context (physical location) of a discovery a significant fact but the formation of the context is as well. ...
In archaeology, the term feature is generally used to refer to any nonportable remnant of human activity, such as a hearth, road, or house remains, later found or recovered by some archaeological endeavor. ...
The archaeological record is a term used in archaeology to denote the physical remains of past human activities which archaeologists seek out and record in an attempt to analyise and reconstruct the past. ...
Natural in Archaeology is a term to denote a horizon in the stratigraphic record representing the point from which there is no man made activity on site and the archaeological record ends. ...
Half-section through a Saxon pit In archaeology a section is a view of an excavated archaeological trench or feature showing the contents of that feature in two dimensions (vertical and horizontal) and thereby illustrating its profile and stratigraphy. ...
Re-cuts
 Photographer takes a record shot of a horse burial in a Roman ditch re-cut Re-cuts are cuts made within the confines or near confines of other cuts often to regain the function of the original cut or harvest material from the original fill. Re-cuts are considered quite valuable as a source of information because they can shed insight on function and attitude over time . A example of re-cutting would be a road side ditch being re-cut and emptied of silt and detritus as a form of maintenance. Conversley a road side ditch that is never re-cut gives a certain impression about the attitude towards the investment in infrastuctue the road represents. Re-cuts by their nature are hard to discern because the re-cut can truncate the original cut in part and be completely with in the confines of the original fill in other parts. They can even be absent from the record. Cutting is the reason why not all past activity on a site leaves traces of its exsistance in the sequence
Hypothetical ditch re-cuts shown in section Fig 2 shows how a ditch re-cut with at least two re-cuts may appear when viewed in section. It is possible that numerous other re-cuts took place and where truncated out of the archaeological record by one or more of the re-cuts that has survived. Half-section through a Saxon pit In archaeology a section is a view of an excavated archaeological trench or feature showing the contents of that feature in two dimensions (vertical and horizontal) and thereby illustrating its profile and stratigraphy. ...
The archaeological record is a term used in archaeology to denote the physical remains of past human activities which archaeologists seek out and record in an attempt to analyise and reconstruct the past. ...
See also Typical context sheets Single context recording was developed in the 1970s by the museum of london amongst others and has become the defacto recording system in many parts of the world and is especially suited to the complexities of deep urban archaeology and the process of Stratification. ...
The Harris Matrix or Harris-Winchester Matrix is a method of recording and interpreting archaeological sites. ...
Archaeological plan In an archaeological excavation, a plan is a drawn record of features (and artifacts) in the horizontal plane. ...
Association in archaeology refers to a close relationship between two or more objects. ...
An archaeological relationship is the position in space and by implication, in time, of an object or context with respect to another. ...
In archaeology, not only the context (physical location) of a discovery a significant fact but the formation of the context is as well. ...
Half-section through a Saxon pit In archaeology a section is a view of an excavated archaeological trench or feature showing the contents of that feature in two dimensions (vertical and horizontal) and thereby illustrating its profile and stratigraphy. ...
In archaeology, the term feature is generally used to refer to any nonportable remnant of human activity, such as a hearth, road, or house remains, later found or recovered by some archaeological endeavor. ...
References - The MoLAS archaeological site manual MoLAS, London 1994. ISBN 0-904818-40-3. Rb 128pp. bl/wh
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