Bizarre ditch question time.

[P Prentice]

....however in very general terms a good ditch location in the bronze age is equally likely to be a good ditch location right through to the medieval period

rather depends on what you want to dig a ditch for!

[BAJR]

rather depends on what you want to dig a ditch for!

perfect

[Dinosaur]

They outline where the interesting stuff is? Saves all that random searching

[Unitof1]

rather depends on what you want to dig a ditch for

I normally like to slot a clear section of ditch, section it and basically use it for the main phasing for the area even if it could be a recut. I always think of them as top. middle and bottom and dig them accordingly. I think that all intersections are just wrong because they are impossible mathematically to get "right" because there are always more than two explanations and cross contamination is guaranteed..

[P Prentice]

They outline where the interesting stuff is? Saves all that random searching

cobblers dinosaur and well you know it

[P Prentice]

I normally like to slot a clear section of ditch, section it and basically use it for the main phasing for the area even if it could be a recut. I always think of them as top. middle and bottom and dig them accordingly. I think that all intersections are just wrong because they are impossible mathematically to get "right" because there are always more than two explanations and cross contamination is guaranteed..

what if it isd entirely unrelated to everything else on the site - unit

[Unitof1]

its on site already. just how do you workout that it is entirely unrelated to everything on site?

[Jack]

The best answer I can give is don't believe what you read......apart from experimental data on formation processes and even then pay close attention to the starting conditions.

Better to look at the ditch you have excavated in its own setting......it's own environment, its own socio-economical/ritual (grin) setting, it's own geology, it's own chronology, it's own topography, it's own archaeological setting. And of course, interrogate it's function (or lack of) }

You can even test some theories for instance checking the levels along the bottom of your ditch to see if it would drain water and in which direction for instance.

[Dinosaur]

cobblers dinosaur and well you know it

Lots of good things to dig are surrounded by ditches! Roman forts, castles, lots of towns and cities, henges, cursuses, barrows, many Roman roads (ok, not surrounded, but at least they show where the thing is), some villas, iron Age enclosures, many cemeteries, roundhouses (or is that a gully?), some RB temples, England (think Offas Dyke and the Vallum count) - and on that basis Wales and Northumberland/Scotland too - hillforts etc etc....oh, and fields... Not much that isn't really...

And that's just on the British mainland

[P Prentice]

and a lot more are not surrounded by ditches