Trends in Archive Archaeology

Current Research on Archival Material from Fieldwork and its Implications for Archaeological Practice

Frey, Jon (ed.)
Rubina, Raja (ed.)

Archive archaeology has, in recent years, become increasingly acknowledged as an important component of archaeological research. However, the vast amounts of empirical data contained in such archives — among them fieldwork diaries, working notebooks, finds sheets, and photographs — together with a sense that the field is often skewed towards ‘one’s own data’, have made it difficult to develop a clear methodological approach that fits all eventualities. The result is that archive archaeology is still not always recognized for what it can bring to the discipline of archaeology, as a field of study that focuses on the contexts within which humanity developed.
This volume draws together contributions from scholars who work with archives in a variety of capacities: as fieldwork directors of decades-long excavations; as archivists interested in the history of collections; as specialists focusing on certain object groups or regions; and as researchers broadly interested in what archival material brings to the table in terms of new knowledge about archaeological situations. In showcasing contributions of work in progress, the chapters published here bring to the fore knowledge about archives that has long been overlooked, and examine how archival archaeology should be shaped in the future so that it can become more firmly integrated within archaeological practice.