Excavation Techniques in Historical Archaeology

This paper discusses the development of excavation techniques in England and their application to historical archaeology in Australia. Edward Higginbotham, a consultant archaeologist in Sydney, applies his experience of excavations in both countries to a critical analysis of various excavation methods, including test-pits, trial-trenches, the grid method, and area excavation. The advantages, efficiency, technical limitations and sample bias of each are compared, and the use of the grid method is questioned. The author argues that grid excavation resulted in serious misunderstanding of archaeological evidence in England, and gives two examples, one from the Romano-British, the other from the Anglo-Saxon period. The failure of the grid method was demonstrated only by improved excavation technique. The paper concludes with a discussion of the relationship of excavation to research design, the conservation of the archaeological resource, historical evidence and extant remains.