Intra-site Artefact Surveys

Abstract

This chapter will use the Mediterranean region as the basis for discussing the achievements, problems and prospects for the surface survey of complex archaeological sites. I shall focus on the largest category of site, urban settlements with multiple phases of occupation, although the discussion is equally relevant to villages and in many respects to smaller rural sites if they show several phases of use. For reference the challenges of complex minor rural sites are explored using a new rigorous methodology, as detailed in the monograph Testing the Hinterland (2007) edited by Bintliff, Howard and Snodgrass.