Excavating the Archive / Archiving the Excavation

Archival Processes and Contexts in Archaeology

Bibliographic Data

ID13085501
AuthorsChloe Ward (0000-0003-1533-732X, University College London, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume10
Issue2
Pages160-176
Publication date2022-04-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAdvances in Archaeological Practice (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2326-3768 • E-ISSN: 2326-3768
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/aap.2022.1
OpenAlexW4224295251
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited40

This article focuses on the production of archaeological knowledge within the fieldwork archive. Archaeological archives do not always reflect the reality of evidence uncovered during fieldwork processes or even the fieldwork processes themselves. This includes the many different agents and agencies, which are crucial to the construction of archaeological knowledge and their representation—or lack of representation—in the archive. Archaeological archives impose restrictions on how knowledge is included in a collection, the way it is recorded, and the fieldwork processes used. Therefore, this article considers the way in which the processes of archival documentation produce, transform, and construct archaeological knowledge. The main examples are from the British School of Archaeology in Egypt's excavations at Abydos between 1921 and 1922, often referred to as the Tombs of the Courtiers and directed by Flinders Petrie. Looking at the different contexts of an excavation archive, from before its creation to its ongoing curation and use, can reveal significant aspects not just of the history of archaeology but also on many of the ongoing recording methods and processes still used in the field today

Archaeology · Documentation · Excavation · Historical archaeology · Politics · Representation (politics · Archaeological Research and Protection · Computer Science · Digital and Traditional Archives Management · History · Image Processing and 3D Reconstruction

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Open DOIOpen Access