Field school
Four-week supervised excavation combining context recording, measured drawing, finds handling and daily interpretation.
Context 070 · coastal ridge sequence · fictional research institute
Read the ground before you tell the story.
Excavation, survey and public archaeology built around one rule: interpretation is only as strong as the record beneath it.
34°02'S
site datum
site datum
5 mm
drawing scale
drawing scale
1,842
contexts logged
contexts logged
datum line +104.32
Current trench
Ridge House / Area C
Late occupation surface over two earlier construction phases.
About / research position
The trench is evidence, not theatre.
Trench 14 is a fictional field institute working across excavation, survey, training and public interpretation. We treat each context sheet, photograph and drawing as part of an argument that another researcher should be able to challenge.
Speed matters during rescue work, but legibility matters afterward. Our systems keep spatial control, finds provenance and interpretive notes connected from field notebook to archive shelf.
Offerings / four units
One record, different scales.
The field school, survey team, lab and public archive share the same identifiers so no object or claim loses its origin.
Survey unit
Landscape walking, GPS control, photogrammetry capture and condition mapping for research and conservation projects.
Finds lab
Cleaning, sorting, cataloguing and basic material identification with clear provenance back to excavation context.
Community archive
Public talks, school visits, digitised registers and accessible site histories written from documented evidence.
Process / stratigraphic method
Excavate in reverse. Reconstruct forward.
We remove the latest deposit first, record its relationships, and only then expose what lies below. Interpretation is revised as the sequence grows.
- 01Establish controlGrid, datum, photography and pre-excavation condition.
- 02Define contextEdges, composition, relationships and provisional interpretation.
- 03Excavate + recoverRemove by context, bag finds separately and retain samples where relevant.
- 04Record before removalPlan, section, levels, photography and written description.
- 05Reconcile sequenceHarris matrix, finds dates, specialist evidence and archive checks.
Projects / active sites
Three questions in the ground.
Domestic sequence
Ridge House
How did a coastal household expand between two documented occupation phases?
Landscape survey
Klip Farm Track
Can dispersed ceramics and wall lines reconstruct movement between farmsteads?
Rescue excavation
Old Jetty Stores
What survives beneath a threatened warehouse floor before redevelopment begins?
Proof / open register extract
| Context | Type | Recorded | Finds bags | Archive check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1842 | floor | 12 Aug | 6 | complete |
| C1843 | fill | 13 Aug | 11 | complete |
| C1844 | wall | 14 Aug | 2 | specialist review |
| C1845 | cut | 15 Aug | 4 | complete |
100%
contexts have level + photo
97%
finds bags reconciled weekly
14
public field days last season
6
partner repositories
People / field team
Different specialists, one context system.
Dr. Noma Vele
Field director · stratigraphy & settlement
Jonas Reed
Survey archaeologist · GIS & photogrammetry
Mila Osman
Finds lead · ceramics & archive control
Thando Mbeki
Public archaeology lead · schools & community archive
Insights / field notes
Interpretation with its working shown.
When a wall is later than the floor it cuts
A plain-language note on stratigraphic relationships and why sequence outranks visual neatness.
Why we photograph the empty trench too
Post-excavation images document what was removed, what remains and where the archive's plans came from.
The find without a context is almost mute
How provenance turns a ceramic sherd from an object into evidence.
FAQ / before the field
Questions that belong in the record.
Can beginners join the field school?
Yes. The first week is deliberately foundational. Participants are not assigned unsupervised excavation until recording standards are understood.
What happens to excavated objects?
Nothing is treated as a souvenir. Finds remain under the legal custody defined by the project permit and are transferred to the appropriate repository with their context records.
Do you excavate human remains?
Only where a permitted research or rescue context explicitly requires it, under specialist oversight and applicable legal and ethical protocols.
Is every discovery displayed publicly?
No. Sensitive locations, fragile contexts and unpublished research can remain restricted. Public access is balanced against stewardship and research integrity.
Contact / field school
Come prepared to record more than you remove.
Send your experience level, preferred season and whether you need accommodation guidance. We place beginners and returning participants into appropriate field roles.
field@example.com