The Matrix: connecting and re-using digital records and archives of archaeological investigations

Abstract

Stratigraphic data and relationships form the backbone of all the related archaeological records from each excavated site and are essential for integrated analysis, wider synthesis and accessible archiving of the growing body of archaeological data and reports generated through the commercial archaeological sector in the UK and internationally. The stratigraphic record, usually in the form of a stratigraphic matrix, with associated relationships and data, acts as a primary, if not the primary 'evidence' for how, and in what order, the site was excavated. As such the stratigraphic matrix can be the key mechanism that enables anyone less familiar with the site, to re-visit and re-use the excavation records, understand what data is most relevant for addressing certain research questions, or problems encountered, and piece together the underlying details of how the excavator(s) arrived at their interpretations. However such records are often only held on paper or as scanned image copies (as PDFs) of matrix diagrams that cannot easily be re-used with all the associated data. This article presents outcomes from The Matrix project (AHRC AH/T002093/1) that address the current problems caused by the lack of standardized approaches to digital archiving of archaeological data using the case study of stratigraphic and phasing data.