excavation methods

A change in soil colour can mark a boundary between deposits with different materials or origins. It may reflect ash, a fill, erosion, construction, burning, or another human activity, but colour must be checked with texture and finds. Therefore option A is best; it does not by itself prove modernization, object disappearance, or river drying.

An archaeological feature is a fixed or partly fixed element that records activity at a site, such as a hearth, wall, floor, pit, posthole, or drain. A hearth therefore makes option A correct because it remains connected to its original location and context. A moving bus, modern book, and living tree are not archaeological features in this excavation example.

The governing distinction is mobility and archaeological context. An artefact, such as a bead, pot, or tool, can usually be collected and studied separately, whereas a feature, such as a wall, hearth, or floor, is fixed within the site. Therefore option A is correct. Features are not limited to metal, and artefacts are not limited to buildings; the two categories are not identical.

The governing concept is archaeological context: a pit is usually recognised because its fill differs from the surrounding undisturbed soil in colour, texture, compaction, or inclusions. By tracing this contrast carefully, excavators can identify the pit’s edge and record its shape. Sunlight, tool weight, and a modern site name do not reveal a buried soil boundary, so option A is correct.

Archaeology depends on association and context, not merely on isolated objects. Items recovered from the same pit may have been deposited during one activity or period, so recording them together can help infer the pit’s function and the actions carried out there. They need not share a material, be modern, or have equal value; therefore option A is correct.

The governing idea is that the position and alignment of structural remains preserve evidence of past construction. Recording brick orientation shows the direction of walls and helps archaeologists reconstruct rooms, entrances, streets, and the wider building plan. It is not a method for pricing bricks, removing soil, or decorating a site, so option A is the unambiguous answer.

In archaeological recording, a plan drawing represents a wall or structure as viewed from above. It shows the horizontal arrangement and helps compare the positions of walls, rooms, openings, and other features. A section drawing instead presents a vertical cut through layers or structures, while a pictograph and coin drawing are unrelated terms. Thus option A is correct.

A section drawing is a vertical profile showing soil layers from the side. It records the order, thickness, colour, and relationship of deposits, allowing archaeologists to study stratigraphy and relative sequence. A plan drawing gives a top view rather than a side view, while trade and seal drawings do not describe this archaeological record. Therefore option A is correct.

A photographic scale provides a known measurement for comparison. When it appears beside an object, viewers can estimate or calculate the object’s length, width, or thickness from the image, even if the photograph is later enlarged or reduced. It changes neither colour, weight, nor age. The scale’s documentation purpose makes option A correct.

A north arrow establishes geographic orientation in the photograph. By comparing it with the site plan, researchers can determine how a wall, object, or feature was positioned and can accurately relate the image to other remains. It has no effect on the photograph’s price, soil drying, or cleaning. Because it records direction, option A is correct.

Digital recording organises photographs, measurements, drawings, coordinates, and descriptions in searchable files or databases. This improves preservation, retrieval, comparison, analysis, and controlled sharing of archaeological information. It does not alter an object’s age, remove the need for physical excavation, or make soil disappear automatically. These documentation advantages make option A correct.

A global positioning device, commonly called GPS, uses satellite signals to determine the geographic coordinates of a site or find. These coordinates support surveying, mapping, locating features, and relating excavation records to the wider landscape. GPS does not join pottery, clean bones, or sieve soil; those require different tools and procedures. Therefore option A is correct.

A topographic map represents the relief of the land, especially differences in elevation, contours, and slope. At an archaeological site, it helps researchers understand drainage, visibility, access routes, water flow, and how structures relate to the terrain. It is not limited to object colours or modern houses and does not show soil prices, so option A is correct.

The governing concept is archaeological recording and stratigraphy. A levelling instrument measures the elevation of a find, feature, or layer in relation to a fixed datum. These measurements allow archaeologists to compare vertical positions and reconstruct the sequence of deposits. Therefore, option A is correct. Colouring objects, washing soil, and making tools are separate activities and are not the purpose of levelling.

The governing principle is preservation of archaeological context. Before pottery is washed, its bag label, locus, layer, and associated information must be checked and retained. Washing can remove dirt that helps with initial identification, and careless mixing can permanently separate a sherd from its provenience. Thus option A is correct. Pricing, burning, or painting the pottery has no valid role in responsible excavation processing.

The governing concept is preventive conservation. A hard brush can scratch the ceramic surface, loosen a weak pigment layer, or remove painted details that carry evidence about decoration and manufacture. Therefore option A is correct. Brushing cannot make pottery older, transform clay into metal, or increase its weight; those alternatives are scientifically unrelated to the danger of abrasive cleaning.

The governing concept is conservation of fragile organic remains. Burial, mineral loss, pressure, moisture, and long-term decay can make ancient bones brittle. A careless tool or sudden exposure may break them and destroy evidence about age, health, diet, or burial. Thus option A is correct. Bones are not always hot, do not normally colour the soil, and ancient remains are not automatically modern; those distractors do not explain careful recovery.

The governing concept is contextual recording before removal. A plan or drawing preserves the skeleton’s posture, orientation, depth, grave boundaries, and relationship with associated objects. These observations help archaeologists interpret burial customs and possible social or ritual practices after the remains have been lifted. Therefore option A is correct. Making the skeleton attractive, pricing it, or changing soil colour has no archaeological purpose.

The governing concept is contamination control in archaeological science. Skin contains oils, dirt and traces of modern carbon that can enter a charcoal sample during handling. Such contamination may affect radiocarbon dating and make the measured age less reliable. Therefore, archaeologists use clean tools, gloves and labelled containers. Option A is correct; the other options describe changes that do not result from ordinary hand contact.

The governing concept is archaeological context and stratigraphic recording. A dating result is meaningful only when researchers know exactly where the sample came from, including its trench, layer and associated remains. Writing the layer number prevents samples from being mixed and allows the measured date to be placed in the site's sequence. Option A is correct; colour, price and size are unrelated to dating accuracy.

The governing concept is systematic excavation recording. A context table assigns and relates units such as layers, pits, walls, floors and fills, allowing archaeologists to see which deposits lie above, below or cut into others. These relationships support reconstruction of the site's sequence and chronology. Option A is correct; the table is not a sales register, a list of modern buildings or a visitor-counting device.

The governing concept is stratigraphy and relative chronology. If a wall rests on or covers an earlier deposit, that deposit had to exist before the wall was constructed, so the layer is generally older than the wall. This establishes sequence even without an exact calendar date. Option A is correct; the relationship does not prove equal dates, a newer layer or a natural wall.

The governing concept is the stratigraphic principle of cutting relationships. A pit could be dug only after the layers it cuts had already been deposited; therefore, the pit is later, or newer, than those layers. Its fill may be still later and must be recorded separately. Option A is correct. Cutting does not mean that the pit has the same date, is older, or cannot be placed in a relative sequence.

The governing concept is the analysis of building phases. Several distinct repair layers show that the wall was maintained or modified repeatedly after its original construction, indicating continued use over an extended period. The pattern can help reconstruct changes in the building and its occupants. Option A is correct; repairs do not prove that the wall was never built, natural, or rebuilt many times in a single day.

The governing concept is archaeological conservation: an object is valuable not only by itself but also because of its exact layer, position, and association with other remains. Unauthorised digging can break or remove evidence, destroy this context, and violate heritage law. Therefore option A is correct. Soil fertility, newer objects, or a larger site are unrelated and cannot justify excavation.