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Feature (archaeology)

 
Feature (archaeology)

 
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Feature (archaeology)
 
 
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Feature in archaeology and especially excavation
Excavation

The term archaeological excavation has a double meaning.# Excavation is the best known and most commonly used within the science of archaeology....
 has several different but allied meanings. A feature is a collection of one or more contexts
Archaeological context

In archaeology, not only the context of a discovery is a significant fact, but the formation of the context is as well. An archaeological context is an event in time which has been preserved in the archaeological record....
 representing some human non-portable activity that generally has a vertical
Vertical direction

In astronomy, geography, geometry and related sciences and contexts, a Direction passing by a given point is said to be vertical if it is locally aligned with the gradient of the Gravitation Field , i.e., with the direction of the gravitational force at that point....
 characteristic to it in relation to site stratigraphy. Examples of features are pits
Cut (archaeology)

In Archaeology and stratification a cut or truncation is a Archaeological context that represents a moment in time when other archaeological deposits were removed for the creation of some Feature such as a ditch or pit....
, walls, and ditches. General horizontal
Horizontal

Horizontal may refer*Horizontal plane, in astronomy, geography, geometry and other sciences and contexts*Horizontal coordinate system, in astronomy...
 elements in the stratigraphic sequence
Sequence (archaeological)

The archaeological sequence or sequence for short, on a specific archaeological site can be defined on two levels of rigour.# Normally it is adequate to equate it to archaeological record....
, such as layers, dumps, or surfaces are not referred to as features.






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Feature in archaeology and especially excavation
Excavation

The term archaeological excavation has a double meaning.# Excavation is the best known and most commonly used within the science of archaeology....
 has several different but allied meanings. A feature is a collection of one or more contexts
Archaeological context

In archaeology, not only the context of a discovery is a significant fact, but the formation of the context is as well. An archaeological context is an event in time which has been preserved in the archaeological record....
 representing some human non-portable activity that generally has a vertical
Vertical direction

In astronomy, geography, geometry and related sciences and contexts, a Direction passing by a given point is said to be vertical if it is locally aligned with the gradient of the Gravitation Field , i.e., with the direction of the gravitational force at that point....
 characteristic to it in relation to site stratigraphy. Examples of features are pits
Cut (archaeology)

In Archaeology and stratification a cut or truncation is a Archaeological context that represents a moment in time when other archaeological deposits were removed for the creation of some Feature such as a ditch or pit....
, walls, and ditches. General horizontal
Horizontal

Horizontal may refer*Horizontal plane, in astronomy, geography, geometry and other sciences and contexts*Horizontal coordinate system, in astronomy...
 elements in the stratigraphic sequence
Sequence (archaeological)

The archaeological sequence or sequence for short, on a specific archaeological site can be defined on two levels of rigour.# Normally it is adequate to equate it to archaeological record....
, such as layers, dumps, or surfaces are not referred to as features. Examples of surfaces include yards, roads, and floors.

Features tend to have an intrusive characteristic or associated cuts
Cut (archaeology)

In Archaeology and stratification a cut or truncation is a Archaeological context that represents a moment in time when other archaeological deposits were removed for the creation of some Feature such as a ditch or pit....
. This is not definitive as surfaces can be referred to as features of a building and free standing structures with no construction cut can still be features. Midden
Midden

A midden, also known as a kitchen midden, or a shell heap, is a landfill. The word is of Scandinavian via Middle English derivation, but is used by archaeology worldwide to describe any kind of feature containing waste products relating to day-to-day human life....
s (dump deposits) are also referred to as features due to their discrete boundaries. This is seen in comparison to leveling dumps, which stretch out over a substantial portion of a site. The concept of a feature is, to a certain degree, fuzzy, as it will change depending on the scale of excavation
Excavation

The term archaeological excavation has a double meaning.# Excavation is the best known and most commonly used within the science of archaeology....
.

Generic feature types

Features specific to certain architecture types or eras such as trilithon
Megalithic architectural elements

ForecourtIn archaeology, a forecourt is the name given to the area in front of certain types of chamber tomb. They were likely the venue of ritual practices connected with the burial and commemoration of the dead in the past societies that built these types of tombs....
 for the purposes of this article are not considered generic. Generic features are feature types that can come from a broad section in time of the archaeological record
Archaeological record

The archaeological record is a term used in archaeology to denote all archaeological evidence, including the physical remains of past human activities which archaeologists seek out and record in an attempt to analyze and reconstruct the past....
 if not all of it. Generic types can include:
  1. Cut
    Cut (archaeology)

    In Archaeology and stratification a cut or truncation is a Archaeological context that represents a moment in time when other archaeological deposits were removed for the creation of some Feature such as a ditch or pit....
    s
  2. Re-cuts
    Cut (archaeology)

    In Archaeology and stratification a cut or truncation is a Archaeological context that represents a moment in time when other archaeological deposits were removed for the creation of some Feature such as a ditch or pit....
  3. Pits
  4. Post holes
    Posthole

    In archaeology a posthole is a cut feature used to hold a surface timber or stone. They are usually much deeper than they are wide although cut may not make this apparent....
  5. Stake holes
  6. Construction cuts
  7. Robber trenches
  8. Wall
    Wall

    A wall is a usually solid structure that defines and sometimes protects an area. Most commonly, a wall delineates a building and supports its superstructure, separates space in buildings into Room s, or protects or delineates a space in the open air....
    s
  9. Foundations
    Foundation (architecture)

    A foundation is a structure that transfers loads to the earth. Foundations are generally broken into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations....
  10. Ditch
    Ditch

    A ditch is usually defined as a small to moderate depression created to channel water.In Old English language, the word dic already existed and was pronounced with a hard c in northern England and as ditch in the south....
    es
  11. Drains
    Drainage

    Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and groundwater from an area. Many agricultural soils need drainage to improve production or to manage water supplies....
  12. Wells
    Water well

    A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground ??by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access water in underground aquifers....
  13. Cistern
    Cistern

    A cistern is a receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Often cisterns are built to catch and store rainwater. They range in capacity from a few litres to thousands of cubic metres ....
    s
  14. Hearth
    Hearth

    In common historic and modern usage, a hearth is a brick- or rock -lined fireplace or oven used for cooking and/or heating. Because of its nature, in historic times the hearth was considered an integral part of a home, often its central or most important feature: its Latin name is focus....
    s
  15. Stairs and steps
  16. Enclosures
    Enclosure (archaeology)

    In archaeology, an enclosure is one of the most common types of archaeological site. It is any area of land separated from surrounding land by earthworks, walls or fencing....
  17. Lynchet
    Lynchet

    A lynchet is a bank of earth that builds up on the downslope of a field ploughed for a long period of time. The disturbed soil slips down the hillside to create a positive lynchet while the area reduced in level becomes a negative lynchet....
    s
  18. Graves
    Grave (burial)

    A grave is a place where a dead body is burial. The grave is usually in a graveyard or cemetery.Graves may contain objects that provide clues for archaeology about the life and culture of the time....
  19. Burial
    Burial

    Burial, also called interment and inhumation, is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over....
    s
  20. Midden
    Midden

    A midden, also known as a kitchen midden, or a shell heap, is a landfill. The word is of Scandinavian via Middle English derivation, but is used by archaeology worldwide to describe any kind of feature containing waste products relating to day-to-day human life....
    s
  21. Pit-house
    Pit-house

    A pit-house or ]] is a dwelling dug into the ground which may also be layered with stone.These structures may be used as places to tell stories, dance, sing, celebrate, and store food....
    s
  22. Fire pit
    Fire pit

    Fire pits have been in existence for a very long time and despite many technological advancements since the advent of man's use of fire, they have remained a popular item because of their versatility....
    s


See also

  • Archaeological context
    Archaeological context

    In archaeology, not only the context of a discovery is a significant fact, but the formation of the context is as well. An archaeological context is an event in time which has been preserved in the archaeological record....
  • Excavation
    Excavation

    The term archaeological excavation has a double meaning.# Excavation is the best known and most commonly used within the science of archaeology....
  • Archaeological field survey
    Archaeological field survey

    Archaeological field survey is the methodological process by which archaeologists collect information about the location, distribution and organisation of past human cultures across a large area ....
  • Single context recording
    Single context recording

    Single context recording was initially developed by Ed Harris and Patrick Ottaway in 1976, from a suggestion by Lawrence Keene. It was further developed by the Department of Urban Archaeology from where it was then exported, in the mid 1980s by Pete Clarke to the Scottish Urban Archaeological Trust and Nicky Pierce to the York Archaeological Tru...
  • Harris matrix
    Harris matrix

    The Harris matrix or Winchester seriation diagram is a tool used to depict the temporal succession of archaeological contexts and thus the sequence of deposition on a 'dry land' archaeological site....
  • Archaeological plan
    Archaeological plan

    An archaeological plan in an archaeological excavation, is a technical drawing of feature s in the horizontal plane....
  • Archaeological association
    Archaeological association

    Association in archaeology has more than one meaning and is confusing to the layman. Archaeology has been critiqued as a soft science with a somewhat poor standardization of terms....
  • Relationship (archaeology)
    Relationship (archaeology)

    An archaeological relationship is the position in space and by implication, in time, of an object or Archaeological context with respect to another....
  • Cut (archaeology)
    Cut (archaeology)

    In Archaeology and stratification a cut or truncation is a Archaeological context that represents a moment in time when other archaeological deposits were removed for the creation of some Feature such as a ditch or pit....
  • Archaeological section
    Archaeological section

    In archaeology a section is a view in part of the Archaeological record showing it in the vertical plane, as a cross section , and thereby illustrating its profile and stratigraphy....
  • Fill (archaeology)
    Fill (archaeology)

    In archaeology fills are archaeological context representing material that has accumulated or has been deposited into a cut feature such as ditch or pit of some kind....