Archaeological plan

In an archaeological excavation, a plan is a drawn record of features (and artifacts) in the horizontal plane. It can either take the form of a "top-plan", or pre-excavation plan, which is drawn before any features are excavated and can help with the management of the excavation, or of a post-excavaton plan, where excavated features are drawn in three dimensions with the help of drawing conventions such as hachures. Plans can be made of complete sites, trenches or individual features. Their scale is usually 1:50. They are linked to the site recording system by the inclusion of known grid points and height readings, taken with a dumpy level or a total station (see surveying).

Related Topics:
Archaeological excavation - Features - Artifacts - Dumpy level - Total station - Surveying

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Plan and section drawings have an interpretive function as well as being part of the recording system, because the draughtsperson makes conscious decisions about what should be included or emphasised. Photographs are complementary, but cannot perform the same role.

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