15th September 2013, 01:22 PM
Hi Tool
Two books that have helped me over the years are 'Stratification for the Archaeologist' by Edward Pyddoke (1961) and 'Soils for the Archaeologist' by I.W. Cornwall (1966). They focus mainly on deposits but both have a small section on the theoretical process of filling a vertical sided ditch and how the sides are progressively eroded.
When I first started out the general rule of thumb tended to be 'U' shaped ditch=prehistoric and 'V' shaped=Roman. However this is by no means accurate; best to go off your finds assemblage.
Two books that have helped me over the years are 'Stratification for the Archaeologist' by Edward Pyddoke (1961) and 'Soils for the Archaeologist' by I.W. Cornwall (1966). They focus mainly on deposits but both have a small section on the theoretical process of filling a vertical sided ditch and how the sides are progressively eroded.
When I first started out the general rule of thumb tended to be 'U' shaped ditch=prehistoric and 'V' shaped=Roman. However this is by no means accurate; best to go off your finds assemblage.