21st July 2010, 12:47 PM
The best and least destructive urban evaluations I've done are where we've been able to identify cellars etc to machine out, quick and easy (and cheap!), gives you a good idea of how much stratigraphy there is in section, straightening sections usually gives you enough dating evidence, and, most importantly, it doesn't totally trash the archaeology compromising any subsequent area excavation whilst giving you all the information you actually need (there's X amount of stratigraphy of Y date-range). Also cellars can be good for shoring (nice structural walls to shore against), or even avoiding the need for shoring, and sometimes nice floors to shovel off.....Unfortunately in my experience curators usually manage to to get in first to insist on the trenches being put in idiotic locations, but then there aren't that many who actually have any hands-on experience of digging those types of sites.....