Horizon (archaeological)
Encyclopedia
An archaeological horizon is a widely disseminated period of common art and artifacts at an archaeological site
or, more usually, over a larger geographic area, and is a distinctive level in that site's or area's archaeological sequence
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An example of an archaeological horizon is the Dark Earth
horizon in England, which separates Roman artifacts from later native artifacts and which indicates the abandonment of urban areas in Roman Britain during the 2nd century.
The term is used to denote a series of stratigraphic relationships that form an archaeological phase
or are part of the process of determining the archaeological phases of a site. An archaeological horizon can be understood as a break in contexts formed in the Harris matrix
, which denotes a change in epoch on a given site by delineation in time of finds found within context
s.
The term 'Archaeological horizon' is sometimes, and somewhat incorrectly, used in place of the term layer or strata
.
Archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...
or, more usually, over a larger geographic area, and is a distinctive level in that site's or area's archaeological sequence
Sequence (archaeological)
The archaeological sequence or sequence for short, on a specific archaeological site can be defined on two levels of rigour.# Normally it is adequate to equate it to archaeological record. However, the two terms are not exactly interchangeable...
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An example of an archaeological horizon is the Dark Earth
Dark earth
For the video game by the same name, see Dark Earth .Dark Earth in archaeology is an archaeological horizon often as much as 0.6m - 0.9m thick which covers Roman remains, notably in London and in Roman ruins in the rest of England, particularly urban ones...
horizon in England, which separates Roman artifacts from later native artifacts and which indicates the abandonment of urban areas in Roman Britain during the 2nd century.
The term is used to denote a series of stratigraphic relationships that form an archaeological phase
Archaeological phase
Archaeological phase and phasing refers to the logical reduction of contexts recorded during excavation to near contemporary archaeological horizons that represent a distinct "phase" of previous land use. These often but not always will be a representation of a former land surface or occupation...
or are part of the process of determining the archaeological phases of a site. An archaeological horizon can be understood as a break in contexts formed in the Harris matrix
Harris matrix
The Harris matrix is a tool used to depict the temporal succession of archaeological contexts and thus the sequence of deposition on a 'dry land' archaeological site. The matrix reflects the relative position and stratigraphic contacts of observable stratigraphic units, or contexts. The Matrix was...
, which denotes a change in epoch on a given site by delineation in time of finds found within context
Archaeological context
In archaeology, not only the context of a discovery is a significant fact, but the formation of the context is as well. An archaeological context is an event in time which has been preserved in the archaeological record. The cutting of a pit or ditch in the past is a context, whilst the material...
s.
The term 'Archaeological horizon' is sometimes, and somewhat incorrectly, used in place of the term layer or strata
Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy, a branch of geology, studies rock layers and layering . It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks....
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