Phase (archaeology)
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Examples of phases that would have no associated occupation surfaces are phases of a site that have been horizontally truncated by later phases and only elements surviving of the truncated phase are those that were below ground level and the subsequent truncation at that time. Subsequent or earlier phases are representations in changing occupation patterns and land use over time. Phase is an extremely important concept in archeological excavation and
Phasing a site has a slightly different meaning from "digging in phase". Digging in phase is the process of stratigraphic removal of archaeological remains not to avoid removing contexts that are earlier in time lower in the
Component and focus
The less rigorous term "phase" is sometimes used to denote a wider period represented by the contexts that lie stratigraphically between two
An example of phase use would be all the contexts between two horizons may represent the entirety of all Saxon occupation on a given site and could be termed as the Saxon phase of the site. However, the block of stratigraphy may have many phases within it as defined by the more rigorous definition of phase.
See also
- Archaeological association
- Archaeological context
- Archaeological section
- Chronological dating
- Cut (archaeology)
- Excavation (archaeology)
- Feature (archaeology)
- Fill (archaeology)
- Harris matrix
- Relationship (archaeology)
References
Sources
- Principles of Archaeological Stratigraphy. 40 figs. 1 pl. 136 pp. London & New York: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-326650-5
- A quick Guide to Preliminary Phasing. https://ucl.academia.edu/ReubenThorpe/Papers/189559/A-Quick-Guide-to-Preliminary-Phasing