The School of Jack

[Jack]

Lesson 11 'The eye of faith[SIZE=2][SIZE=4]'

It takes experience and training to interpret sections, relationships and often the edges of features. It takes experience [/SIZE][/SIZE][SIZE=2]and training[/SIZE][SIZE=2] to tell the subtle differences between deposits. It takes experience [/SIZE][SIZE=2]and training [/SIZE][SIZE=2]to understand the significance of the size, shape and orientation of that stone. It takes experience [/SIZE][SIZE=2]and training to see the subtle indicators of the depositional processes that formed your context. [/SIZE][SIZE=2]It takes experience [/SIZE][SIZE=2]and training to see and understand the meaning of changes in context, the shape and nature of the interfaces[/SIZE] and how to interpret these into a stratigraphic sequence.

This amalgamation of knowledge and experience is often summarised as 'The eye of faith' by older diggers. It is often accompanied with a string of words that don't seem to make sense (at first) and sometimes even unusual rituals such as peering at a section through squinted eyes, or smelling and tasting deposits.

'Ach. Yer canna see where the second ditch cuts thru unless ya look at it upside doon thru yer legs.'
-- Bulldozer

The young practitioner should take note (with a pinch of salt) of all such expressions of the eye of faith as within the ritual and hyperbolae lie the keys to understanding context formation.

Depositional processes and ancient construction techniques followed the laws of physics (water runs downhill for instance), but also followed the ancient rules of thumb now encrusted in oral tradition......

However, remember, people make (made) daft decisions (Ritual) and make mistakes. Not everything will make sense.

'I just can't understand this structure. It's blocked at both ends, water couldn't have gotten into the culvert.'
-- The photo fairy
'Well, I guess whoever made it, made a mistake then.'
-- The Geordie Prof.
'Nah, means its ritual.'
-- Sparky

[Dinosaur]

The real challenge is then digging the feature that can only be seen from 30m away under a full moon in a mirror - that's what us old lags call 'job security' :face-approve:

...and being able to prove (ideally scientifically) they were real whatever anyone may have said at the time

[Jack]

End of first term.........[SIZE=2][/SIZE][SIZE=2]

'....What you wanna do now'
-- Nicholas

<shrugs> '........pub?'
-- Danny
[/SIZE]

[Seedy Girl]

When do we get our results?

Saying that, I can't remember sitting any exams!

[Unitof1]

It takes experience and training to interpret sections, relationships and often the edges of features.

hence the question what is meant by a physical relationship?

I would also like to take the opportunity to point out that anybody who believes in any form of religion cannot fill in a context sheet on the grounds that they don't know what's real and believe that invisible things exist amongst other archaeologically irreconcilable problems.