Make no mistake, understanding how a building has developed over time is archaeology. Architectural history has its place and is needed but it is the discipline of recording and interpreting the evidence that is at the core of buildings archaeology. Looking at the evidence and telling the story is what we do. I would recomend actually looking at books on the construction of buildings, how they are put together and why things are done in a certain way. I have books on modern building survey for quantity surveyors etc as well as books on the history of architecture. The architectural stuff tends to miss out the bit on how it was actually done.
There is nothing like learning from an old lag (or having a builder in the family)
The thing I like about buildings is they really make you think.
Are those medieval roof timbers a reuse of material from else where?
Is the base of the wall a much later replacement for a wooden sill?
Has the exterior been re faced in a much more modern style masking an earlier building?
It is all stratigraphy but in three dimensions with no assurances of what order things happend in (the roof can be the oldest part of a building or the youngest)
There is nothing like learning from an old lag (or having a builder in the family)
The thing I like about buildings is they really make you think.
Are those medieval roof timbers a reuse of material from else where?
Is the base of the wall a much later replacement for a wooden sill?
Has the exterior been re faced in a much more modern style masking an earlier building?
It is all stratigraphy but in three dimensions with no assurances of what order things happend in (the roof can be the oldest part of a building or the youngest)