This section sets out requirements for collection during fieldwork. It should be considered alongside other published standards and guidance for fieldwork, including those published by CIfA:
- CIfA Code, regulations and standards & guidance
- the relevant CIfA Toolkits including the Toolkit for Selecting Archaeological Archives
- other guidance including The Archaeologist's Guide to Good Practice – see References and further reading for more examples
Pottery assemblages may be recovered during most forms of intrusive archaeology project, including land surface or seabed collection, archaeological monitoring and recording (also referred to as watching brief), archaeological field evaluation and archaeological excavation. All the pottery found in every (also referred to as contextual unit should be collected in accordance with the strategies agreed during project planning. Unexpected finds, such as graves or waster dumps, may lead to the modification of strategies for collection, sampling or selection. Amendments to the project design or selection strategy should take place following discussions with the personnel who developed the strategies at the outset, which would normally include the project executive, the project manager, the pottery specialists and the repository curator.
During fieldwork productive communication between the archaeological team on site, project manager and the pottery specialist is key, and their shared purpose should be to ensure that any alterations in collection and/or processing strategies continue to guarantee that the maximum potential of the pottery assemblage can be achieved. Site visits and pottery scans by the pottery specialist help to inform work on site, collection and sampling strategies and to develop post-fieldwork methods. A visit from a pottery specialist could also provide an indication of chronology, identify special deposits and highlight potential problems of redeposition.
- Recover all the pottery found in every contextual unit; 100% collection will prevent any bias in the record and misinterpretation of the material
- Review and modify recovery techniques, especially during excavation. The excavator should be able to modify the collection strategy if special deposits are encountered. These include primary deposition of complete (or substantially complete) vessels, pottery associated with specific features such as graves or entrance ways and votive or structured deposits
- Modifications to the collection strategy could include
- the extension of the excavated area to determine the extent of significant deposits
- the excavation of a higher or lower percentage of individual features than originally agreed in the project design
- the use of sieving to recover as many finds as possible
- recording pottery in situ, including on drawn plans, photography and in 3D; sherds from crushed vessels should be numbered and bagged individually, to aid post-investigation reconstruction, refit analysis and interpretation
- Provide appropriately appointed, secure facilities and equipment for the cleaning, marking, labelling, documenting and packing of finds if these tasks are to take place on site
- There should be suitable expertise and materials for the packing, stabilisation and lifting of fragile finds such as complete vessels or crushed pots
- Label appropriately all material recovered by sieving
- Ensure contact details for trained conservators to manage the packing, stabilisation and lifting of fragile finds are available
- Review and modify the archive selection strategy as appropriate, ensuring that the requirements of the pottery specialist and the repository curator continue to be met
- Establish procedures for the secure transport of finds off site, if processing is to take place elsewhere
Any programme of work that involves the collection and/or production of information about an archaeological site, assemblage or object in any environment, including in the field, under water, at a desk or in a laboratory. Examples of an archaeological project include: intrusive projects such as excavation, field evaluation, watching brief, surface recovery and the destructive analysis of objects; non-intrusive projects such as landscape or building survey, aerial survey, remote sensing, off-site research such as desk-based assessment and the recording of objects or object assemblages (Perrin et al 2014, 20).
One product of an archaeological project will be an archaeological archive.
A single stratigraphic or surveyed unit recorded separately in the field; eg an excavated deposit or feature, a grid square for surface collection.
All the pottery collected during an archaeological project.
The person who manages the project and the project team.
An individual who is competent in, and specialises in, characterising, quantifying, analysing, interpreting and reporting on pottery assemblages. A pottery specialist will have developed expertise through the extensive study of pottery, and reporting in reputable, peer reviewed sources, with a demonstrable ability to work unsupervised. Membership of a pottery study group is a valuable way of acquiring and sharing knowledge, while competence can be demonstrated through accreditation by CIfA. Both are recommended.
The document that includes a description of the scope, aims, objectives, tasks, strategies and methods of a project, the personnel involved and the timetable. This document may be called something different depending on the jurisdiction of the work, eg written scheme of investigation (WSI), method statement, programme of works, etc.
The person who instigates or commissions an archaeological project, often in either a planning role or through a funding agency, and who has a primary role in determining the aims and frame of reference.
A dump of pottery wasted (via failure during firing such as melting, exploding, fragmenting) in the kiln. These can comprise very large numbers of sherds, especially in industrial period contexts, leading to revised fieldwork strategies (see Historic England 2015).
The monitoring of development works by an archaeologist.
