The process of field archaeology

The main contents of field archaeology include field investigation, field excavation, indoor arrangement and preparation of field excavation report. Recently, some scholars advocate that the protection of field archaeological objects should be included in field archaeology.

Field archaeological investigation

Field investigation is the Depth Charge of field archaeology. The basic methods are: foot investigation, drilling and archaeological exploration by using modern scientific and technological means. Attention should be paid to the exposed remains and relics in the field, graves and borrow pits. Drilling survey is an effective survey method in China, especially suitable for the investigation of ancient cemeteries. In addition, it is also a convenient investigation method to observe the shadow of the ground relics and the height of plants from the air, judge the outline and shape of the ground relics, detect the abnormal phenomenon of underground physical properties with physical instruments, and judge the direction and shape of the shallow buried relics.

Field archaeological excavation

Field excavation is the most important and common basic method of field archaeology. Before excavation, according to the purpose of excavation, the technical route should be designed with the staff of related disciplines, so that the academic purpose is clear and the scheme is feasible. The most common field excavations are site excavations and tomb excavations. The specific excavation method of the site is "exploration method", that is, the excavation area is divided into several equal parts-"exploration method", in which the soil layer is divided into different cultural layers according to the soil quality (loose, soft and hard), soil color (various colors) and structure (sediment content, etc.). ), the excavation shall be carried out from top to bottom. Ash pits, building foundations, soil pits, roads and other relics. Those below each floor in the exploration plan shall be cleaned up one by one according to the principle of late to early. In the process of excavation, we should collect various relics such as stone tools, bones, pottery, mussels, stones, human remains and animal bones, and date charcoal samples. In the excavation of tombs, we must first confirm the soil layer where the tombs are located, find out the shape and structure of the tombs, and carefully clean up the funerary objects, bones and funerary objects.

Indoor finishing room

Collation is a process of classification, repair, statistics and preliminary research on the obtained physical data by using stratigraphy and typology methods. Among them, the most important thing is the typological study of relics. According to the typology principle, the remains are classified in detail and the relative and absolute ages of each unit are judged.

Write a field archaeological report. After field excavation and indoor finishing, report the results of field work in the form of briefing or professional report. Among them, the briefing is a brief introduction to the field work, while the formal excavation report is a faithful and comprehensive report on the investigation or excavation work.