7 - Building stratigraphic sequences on excavations: an example from Konstanz, Germany

Abstract

This chapter discusses the building of stratigraphic sequences on excavations with the help of an example from Konstanz, Germany. An example from the Fischmarkt excavation serves to show the development of the Harris Matrix during the ongoing dig. Schnitt 10, one of 15 trenches fully excavated between 1984 and 1986, offers an interesting though not unduly complicated stratigraphy. The chapter presents the reconstruction of the order of excavation and the development of the stratigraphic sequence as it took place. At the centre of the Konstanz recording system is a context sheet, which was originally developed specifically for conditions of inner city excavations in Konstanz. A simple numbering system is employed, each context being treated equally as an individual unit of stratification, no distinction of separate numbering systems existing for different kinds of contexts. Every context recognized as such is numbered and recorded on an individual context sheet. As soon as the stratigraphic relationships to the adjacent contexts become clear, the context number is added to the stratigraphic sequence being built up on the pre-printed Harris matrix sheet. The relationships filled in on the context sheet and the inclusion of the context number in the developing sequence function as essential checks on each other. In common with most modern excavations, the excavation diary as the main repository of excavation data has been dispensed with, thus eliminating the time-consuming and error-ridden post-excavation reorganization of data necessary to retrieve complete information on each individual context.