4.1 Stratigraphic Dating

In many ways, stratigraphic datingA relative dating method based on the principle that lower layers in a stratigraphic sequence are older than those above them. has already been introduced, as it exists at the core of excavation methods and provides a relative measure of age when one stratigraphic layer lies above or below another.

How It Works

Stratigraphic dating is predicated on the laws of stratigraphy we have already described - the fact that any archaeological context or feature that is physically above another will almost always be younger than it. This method is both simple and intuitive, but deceptively valuable. Throughout an excavation every feature and context will have their stratigraphy noted, with the physical location of other archaeological features and finds around them recorded relative to one another. This allows interpretation of which parts of a site are older than others, and is fundamental to investigating the passage of time. The main way these stratigraphic relationships are recorded is through a harris matrixA diagram used in archaeology to record the stratigraphic relationships between contexts, showing which layers are older or younger., a visualisation of the stratigraphy that is both easy to parse and capable of demonstrating extremely complex relationships on a site. It is the Harris matrix this lesson will primarily discuss.