Methods & Aims in Archaeology

The nature of proof is more complex than it seems to be at first sight. True enough, all proof is merely a matter of common sense; it does not appeal to any different faculty. A...

The love of past times, the craving for that which is gone, is one of the more obscure instincts which appears to be brought forward by the wider growth of interests of the mind...

The preservation of the objects that are found is a necessary duty of the finder. To disclose things only to destroy them, when a more skilful or patient worker might have added...

In starting an excavation one of the first considerations is the supply of labourers, and the selection of them. In some places it is difficult to persuade any one to work at fi...

At first sight, ethics might not seem to have more to do with archaeology than with chemistry or astronomy. Yet even in those subjects an entire monopoly of some useful material...

A science can hardly be said to exist until it has a developed system of work, and its possibilities of value for teaching purposes depend entirely on the organization of its me...

A very needful branch of recording is the taking impressions of inscriptions and flat reliefs. The usual method is by wet squeezing of paper, which may be made up of any thickne...

Photographs are essential for all objects of artistic interest, and for expressing rounded forms for which elaborate shading would otherwise be needed. Views of the excavations...

After finding things the first consideration is to record and preserve all the information about them. The most ignorant dealer or plunderer may be a very successful digger, but...

The observing of resemblances and differences, and the memory of physical appearances required for this, are absolute requisites for carrying on the duties of excavating. Here w...

A large site, such as that of a temple or a town, may be attacked in several ways. The most cursory method is by trial pits in various spots; pits which, if they hit anything of...

The final shape of the publication of the record has to be borne in mind in all the progress of it. The arrangement of the plates must precede the writing of the details of the...

In few kinds of work are the results so directly dependent on the personality of the worker as they are in excavating. The old saying that a man finds what he looks for in a sub...

Before packing carved blocks it is generally best to saw off the backs, so as to lighten the quantity. A face should always be sawn from each end up to the middle, leaving it ab...

Nature of proof, 136; Legal evidence, 136; Witnesses, 138; Material facts, 138; Exhaustion, 139; Probabilities, 139; Legal proof, 140; _Egypt and Europe_, 141; In XXVIth Dynasty...

Individual rights, 169; Destruction, 170; Restoration, 172; Sacrifices, 173; Responsibility, 174; Rights of the future, 175; Rights of the past, 176; Duties, 178; Future of muse...

Systems of work, 122; Need of a _corpus_, 123; Example of _corpus_, 124; Utility, 125; Successive ages, 126; Sequences, 127; Sequence dates, 129; Conservation, 130; Buildings, 1...

Stone, 86; Pottery, 88; Textiles, 89; Wood, 89; Ivory, 91; Papyri, 93; Bead-work, 95; Stucco, 96; Gold, 98; Silver, 98; Copper, 99; Bronze, 100; Lead, 102; Iron, 102; Sorting, 1...

Quality, 20; Education, 21; Control, 22; Substitution, 23; Overseers, 24; Direct system, 26; Day pay, 27; Piecework, 29; Day and piece work, 30; Rewards, 33; Accounts, 35; Nativ...