Services

I offer a complete service, from advice on sampling strategies at the initial project planning stage, through spot dating and fabric analysis, to complete assessment reports and publications with full petrographic analysis. This is an all-in-one service that cuts time and cost as only one specialist is required to fulfil all the necessary requirements of a ceramic report.

The report types for ceramic analysis below are based on the CIfA "Toolkit for Specialist Reporting", which I helped to develop, to enable accurate quoting and costings for the specific needs of the client. The CIfA advisory checklist specifies what elements the three types of specialist report should include, and clients can then decide what suits their research aims and project needs. Below is a guide to what is included in each type of report.

Follow link for further information:

Advisory checklist | Chartered Institute for Archaeologists

In addition to these standardised reports, I offer a Rapid Assessment report and Petrographic report.

All ceramic reports conform to the national recording standards and recommended good practice as outlined in “A standard for Pottery Studies in Archaeology”, for which I was a contributing author.

I do not provide illustration as part of this service, recommendations for illustration are made and it is the responsibility of the client to source a provider for this service.

Rapid Assessment

Summary

Useful at an initial stage of fieldwork where a sampling strategy was not stated in the Project design, perhaps due to the low archaeological potential of the site. A brief comment on the provisional date to inform a retrospective sampling strategy, and if further work needed, is advisable. This will then inform the appropriate level of reporting (i.e. Types 1-3, below) further down the line and ensure the best level of recording towards that goal.

Provisional dates and recommendations, future assessment potential including quote for further work required

Type 1. Description

Quantification and Assessment of potential

Summary

Some category of assemblages, or those from a project as a whole, merit little detailed reporting. They might be considered to be relatively insignificant; for example because of the way in which they were recovered (e.g. a watching brief has recorded little associated structural evidence) or because they are badly fragmented and mostly re-deposited.

In such cases, the level of recording will necessarily be limited, and the finds report will consist principally of a description and quantification of the material evidence recovered, with some chronological interpretation, relating it as far as possible to other known finds from the same site or area. A more detailed description may be required if the finds have not been selected for the project archive ( CIfA Toolkit, see link above).

Dating
Quantification (count/weight by context or site overall)
Re-bagging and boxing if required (on request)
Results of quantification presented in excel database and word document format for flexible inclusion into any report format
Some chronological interpretation

Type 2. Appraisal

Assessment Report

Watching briefs, evaluations, excavations and archived collections (with or without a petrographic report)

Summary

Some finds reports are focused on establishing the potential for further work. These include assessment reports and studies of finds from field evaluations.

In an appraisal, the aim of the report is to provide information that will enable and inform further work. This will usually be based on a record of the character and quantity of the assemblage and consider its quality in relation to states of preservation, chronological coherency, site formation processes, types of objects present and interpretations of social and economic conditions (CIfA Toolkit, see link above).

Dating
Quantification (count/weight by context or site overall)
Re-bagging and boxing if required (on request)
Results of quantification presented in excel database and word document format for flexible inclusion into any report format
Fabric analysis and Fabric description to identify preliminary fabric groups using binocular microscope at x20 magnification
Statement of significance and potential for further work
Interpretive comments

Type 3 Full Analysis

Ceramics Report for final submission (with or without a petrographic report)

Summary

Reports based on full analysis usually represent the final output from an archaeological project and there could be several of these, depending on the publication and dissemination requirements/proposals set out in either the Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI) or Post-excavation Assessment (PXA).

Such reports are likely to be based on detailed records, with the aim of presenting the results of that analysis in relation to the fullest interpretation of the site. Full analysis reports may be drawn into publication reports in full or in an edited version, but the original report will remain an important component of the final project archive. This type of report is most likely to include the majority of the criteria included in the checklist (CIfA Toolkit, see link above).

All of the above with

Comparative analysis related to regional research frameworks and current academic viewpoints
Descriptions of illustrations and figures in text
High quality photomicrographs

Petrographic Report

Summary

A petrographic report is an informative and often required part of ceramic analysis and is cheaper than geo-chemical analysis. It is important to consider the need for this level of analysis as it may not be necessary if there are existing comprehensive analyses for a particular ware or region which I am happy to comment on. However, petrographic analysis can do more than just establish a provenance for a particular ceramic production or clay extraction site. It can reveal production techniques through textural analysis, providing scientific evidence of peoples choices, everyday practices and relationships with the wider world through exchange and trade. High resolution photomicrographs of thin-sections are included in my reports as an invaluable source of information for inclusion in digital archives or within publications.

Petrographic Report (with or without a ceramics report)

Production of thin sections slides
Analysis under polarising microscope x20 to x40
Textural description
Mineral composition
Production of comprehensive petrographic description conforming to national petrological standards
Summary of petrographic results illustrated with high resolution 2500DPI photomicrographs
Validate macroscopic fabric analysis where possible
Provenance fabric if possible
Comparative fabric analysis to known regional fabrics groups
Geological report for excavation site in relation to pottery fabrics
Statement of significance
Interpretive comments

POTS

Imogen Wood

Ceramic and Petrographic Specialist