doi:10.1017/S1380203811000109
Matt Edgeworth, School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, UK.
Email: me87@le.ac.uk.
doi:10.1017/S1380203811000110
The issue is not why excavate?, nor is it whether or not to excavate sites.
Nor is it the numerous ancillary considerations mentioned at the round table
and in the papers too many sites, too few resources, too large a backlog
of unpublished sites, or saving sites for future techniques. All excavators,
archaeologists, curators and cultural heritage managers would agree. If there
is a unique world-class site that will be destroyed in a few weeks, it should
be excavated. One needs to excavate to preserve the heritage, information,
artefacts and context.
The issue is which specific sites should be excavated and which should not.
How does one prioritize particular sites for excavation? Furthermore, what
criteria determine these priorities? In short, archaeologists must rationalize
the decision process for determining site excavation. A diagnostic system for
making the decision is required.
Given a surplus of sites and limited resources to excavate, a methodology
similar to the triaging system that was developed for emergency care
is appropriate. Battlefield medics and hospital emergency rooms have an
analogous surplus of patients and limited set of resources to apply to saving
lives.
Triaging creates four categories one category of no priority and three
categories of diminishing priority. Hence the name triage. Although there
are different scales, the system essentially divides patients into lost (dying,
dead and no-priority), cannot wait and needs immediate treatment, has to
wait but needs treatment, and minor injuries for which treatment is not
necessary.
Thus archaeological sites would similarly be divided into four groupings.
There are those sites that are in such bad shape or in such impossible
situations that no matter what you do they are lost. Next, there are those
sites that need immediate excavation. These, in turn, are followed by sites
where excavations may be delayed. Finally, excavation may not be necessary
at all for some sites.
Ezra B.W. Zubrow, Department of Anthropology, State University of New York at Buffalo,