The work undertaken by various specialists during archaeological analysis generates a huge quantity of data, and this, together with the physical material recovered during an excavation, forms what is known as the archaeological archive. Traditionally, the archive would be deposited in a museum. While this is still usually the case for the physical remains from an excavation, the digital records created during post-excavation analysis have the potential to be used in new and exciting ways. By using modern data management techniques and innovative technology, we can harness immensely complicated and sometimes disparate datasets to bind this complex information together, creating new narratives and work with the material more efficiently than ever before.
Archaeology for Now, and for the Future
So why do we do all this work, and why is it important?
The wider public interest in history is arguably reason enough to create stories about our past from the evidence available to us, but archaeological research also informs our relationship with the future. The results of some of the specialist palaeoenvironmental work outlined above have, provided invaluable information about the way that climate has changed over time, which is of critical importance for use in future models of climate change. While it deals with the past, the archaeological analysis undertaken by our teams of specialists is therefore inextricably associated with our well-being, both in the present and in the future.