Editing Archaeological excavation (section)

=== Stratification ===
[[File:1555 - Keramikos archaeological area, Athens - Stratigraphy - Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, Nov 12 2009.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|[[Stratigraphy]] in the excavation area in the [[Kerameikos]] Cemetery ([[Athens]]).]]
[[File:Archäologie schichtengrabung.jpg|thumb|Stratification at an excavation site in [[Augsburg]], [[Germany]]]]
{{Main|Stratigraphy (archaeology)}}
In archaeology, especially in excavating, [[Stratigraphy (archaeology)|stratigraphy]] involves the study of how deposits occurs layer by layer.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Bahn|first=Paul|url=http://veryshortintroductions.com/view/10.1093/actrade/9780199657438.001.0001/actrade-9780199657438|title=Archaeology: A Very Short Introduction|date=2012-08-01|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-965743-8|pages=18|doi=10.1093/actrade/9780199657438.001.0001}}</ref> It is largely based on the [[Law of Superposition]]. The Law of Superposition indicates that layers of sediment further down will contain older artifacts than layers above.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brock |first1=Terry |title=Archaeology 101: Reading Stratigraphy |url=http://campusarch.msu.edu/?p=334 |website=MSU Campus Archaeology Program |date=16 February 2010 |access-date=21 July 2020}}</ref> When archaeological finds are below the surface of the ground (as is most commonly the case), the identification of the context of each find is vital to enable the archaeologist to draw conclusions about the site and the nature and date of its occupation. It is the archaeologist's role to attempt to discover what contexts exist and how they came to be created.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Ashmore |first=Wendy |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/821067667|title=Discovering our past : a brief introduction to archaeology|others=Sharer, Robert J.|date=4 March 2013 |isbn=978-0-07-803491-6|edition=Sixth |location=New York |oclc=821067667}}</ref> Archaeological stratification or sequence is the dynamic superimposition of single units of stratigraphy or contexts.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Dating Techniques In Archaeology|url=http://www.archaeologyexpert.co.uk/ArchaeologicalDating.html|access-date=2020-07-29|website=www.archaeologyexpert.co.uk}}</ref> The '''context''' (physical location) of a discovery can be of major significance. Archaeological context refers to where an artifact or feature was found as well as what the artifact or feature was located near.<ref name=":3" /> Context is important for determining how long ago the artifact or feature was in use as well as what its function may have been.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=Glossary|url=https://www.archaeological.org/programs/educators/introduction-to-archaeology/glossary/|access-date=2020-07-29|website=Archaeological Institute of America}}</ref> The cutting of a pit or ditch in the past is a context, whilst the material filling it will be another. Multiple fills seen in [[Archaeological section|section]] would mean multiple contexts. Structural features, natural deposits and [[inhumation]]s are also contexts.

By separating a site into these basic, discrete units, archaeologists are able to create a chronology for activity on a site and describe and interpret it. Stratigraphic [[Relationship (archaeology)|relationships]] are the relationships created between contexts in time representing the chronological order they were created. An example would be a ditch and the back-fill of said ditch. The relationship of "the fill" context to the ditch "cut" context is "the fill" occurred later in the sequence, i.e., you have to dig a ditch first before you can back-fill it.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Learning Archaeology: Excavation: Recording: Stratigraphy: Cut / Fills|url=http://www.pastperfect.org.uk/archaeology/cutsandfills.html|access-date=2020-07-29|website=www.pastperfect.org.uk}}</ref> A relationship that is later in the sequence is sometimes referred to as "higher" in the sequence and a relationship that is earlier "lower" though the term ''higher'' or ''lower'' does not itself imply a context needs to be physically higher or lower. It is more useful to think of this ''higher'' or ''lower'' term as it relates to the contexts position in a [[Harris matrix]], which is a two-dimensional representation of a site's formation in space and time.

Understanding a site in modern archaeology is a process of grouping single contexts together in ever larger groups by virtue of their relationships. The terminology of these larger clusters varies depending on practitioner, but the terms interface, sub-group, group and land use are common. An example of a sub-group could be the three contexts that make up a burial: the grave cut, the body and the back-filled earth on top of the body. In turn sub-groups can be clustered together with other sub-groups by virtue of their stratigraphic relationship to form groups which in turn form "[[Archaeological phase|phases]]". A sub-group burial could cluster with other sub-group burials to form a cemetery or burial group which in turn could be clustered with a building such as church to produce a "phase." A less rigorously defined combination of one or more contexts is sometimes called a [[Feature (archaeology)|feature]].