The Archaeological Potential of Secondary Contexts

Module 9 - Outline of Research

Module 9 assesses current practice in the management of the secondary context archaeological resource, and proposes generic recommendations for the future management, protection and recording of the secondary context archaeological resource. The assessment emphasises:

1. The relative value of the secondary context archaeological resource, both as a whole and with respect to the different categories of new evidence (artefactual, biological, sedimentary, and dating samples) that can be potentially recovered from pre-excavated secondary context sediments.

2. Prioritisation of the different categories of evidence occurring within the secondary context archaeological resource, with respect to management strategies, logistics and archaeological requirements (both academic and commercial).

3. A review of current watching brief practise on aggregate sites, based on an analysis of strategy documents produced by professional archaeological units.

4. The recommendation of generic and specific strategies for the future management, protection and recording of the aggregate resource. These recommendations will focus upon the potential impact for the aggregates industry (financial and logistical), the relative value of the different components of the geoarchaeological record, strategy efficiency (in terms of time and geoarchaeological data output), and the potential for the ‘training’ of aggregates industry employees in the recognition of different sedimentary facies.

Return to Module 9 Introduction