Surveys

Archaeological surveys

Team transecting at Phoinix-Loutro: David Marko, Vincent Brown, Lynn Chang, Morag Kersel, Julie Clark. Looking NE. July 1989.
© Sphakia Survey

Archaeological survey is collecting material from the surface of the ground while walking over a large area. The 'walking' usually consists of pre-determined routes or transects, and the 'collecting' is accompanied by detailed recording.

The goal of archaeological survey is to follow up the same clues on the surface as excavation - ruins, ancient artefacts - by systematically investigating their presence and absence over an area or region. Systematic survey requires archaeologists to understand larger landscapes over longer periods of time; to determine what lies behind the distribution of artefacts and signs of human alterations to the landscape; and to decide what the patterns they see might mean with respect to longterm human interaction with regional landscapes.

Excavation and survey stages

The table that follows is in two parts. The first part shows that the basic stages of field work are roughly the same for both excavation and survey. The second part gives us strengths and weaknesses of both types of archaeological investigation.

Stages of work	EXCAVATION & SURVEY
1. fieldwork	Pre-fieldwork reconnaissance followed by Excavation/survey with systematic recording and Collection of other evidence
2. study	Study of finds Analysis of various kinds of data as available (environmental, material, documentary, oral)
3. publication	Articles, books. Web sites. Video.

EXCAVATION	SURVEY
STRENGTHS	very detailed information about one placestratified sealed deposits, the gold standard for datingprecise chronological definition for 1-2 periodsa great deal of information about an area, with a well-defined samplevery varied information on a large scale (e.g. coastlines)long timespans with scope for diachronic comparison;
WEAKNESSES	all information focussed on only one place (can’t tell you about surrounding area)chronological range usually limitedsample typically undefined (how much of the site has been excavated? Is the excavated portion representative of the whole?)information relatively imprecisedating of material depends on close comparison with excavated depositssome info not reliably determinable (precise site sizes for individual periods at multi-period sites

EXCAVATION

SURVEY

STRENGTHS

very detailed information about one placestratified sealed deposits, the gold standard for datingprecise chronological definition for 1-2 periodsa great deal of information about an area, with a well-defined samplevery varied information on a large scale (e.g. coastlines)long timespans with scope for diachronic comparison;

WEAKNESSES

all information focussed on only one place (can’t tell you about surrounding area)chronological range usually limitedsample typically undefined (how much of the site has been excavated? Is the excavated portion representative of the whole?)information relatively imprecisedating of material depends on close comparison with excavated depositssome info not reliably determinable (precise site sizes for individual periods at multi-period sites

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