Excavation documentation

The primary goal of monument protection is the preservation of archaeological sites. This is not always possible because current construction measures require ground intervention. In this case, an archaeological excavation will take place before the construction work begins. The aim is to document the historical and prehistoric findings as well as possible in descriptions, photos and drawings for posterity and to recover the existing objects professionally. However, archaeological excavations also always mean the destruction of the archaeological findings that are being excavated. This is why excavations only take place when a site is under immediate threat. The Saxony State Office for Archaeology (LfA) is responsible for carrying out the project. The aim is to preserve the information content for further research, even if the actual findings have been destroyed.

Once the excavation is complete, the documents and a report from the excavation manager are sent to Unit 31, the inventory department, where they are recorded and systematically classified. The excavation documentation is stored there as source material for further analysis or publications and is available for scientific work.

The excavation documentation is an important source of information for ArchaeoSN, especially for sites for which no final publication has yet been published. Quite apart from this, however, the documentation also includes very clear excavation plans and feature drawings, which can be viewed on ArchaeoSN.