Glossary · Field

Stratigraphy (archaeological)

The layered deposits of a site read in order, latest on top; the same principle as geological stratigraphy applied to a few metres of soil.

The layered deposits of a site read in order, latest on top; the same principle as geological stratigraphy applied to a few metres of soil. An object's layer is what dates it when nothing else can, and a dug find without a recorded layer has thrown that away.

Sources

Cite this article

Stratum Strata. "Stratigraphy (archaeological)" (Glossary). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-16. https://stratum.black/strata/glossary/stratigraphy-arch. Accessed 2026-09-21.

@misc{stratum-stratigraphy-arch,
  title        = {Stratigraphy (archaeological)},
  author       = {{Stratum Strata}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/glossary/stratigraphy-arch}},
  year         = {2026},
  note         = {Glossary article, Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-16; sources: stratum. Accessed 2026-09-21.}
}

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Sources for this article: Stratum editorial (Stratum editorial). As of 2026-09-16; Strata pack 2026.09. Written by Stratum in our own words; the works cited are where the science lives, and none of their text is reproduced here.

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Stratum is the inventory, provenance and certificate system for fossil, mineral and shell collections. Strata is its open reference: every fact cites its source, and the credits page lists each one with its licence.