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Archaeological projects are set up to collect specified data within time and cost constraints. The academic justification for the project must be clearly formulated and expressed at the outset. The end result should be a publication which reflects the significance of the data collected, and the creation of an archive deposited in an appropriate place for continuing duration and legitimate access.
For any project, a team with the appropriate knowledge and skills must be appointed. It is a basic principle of good management practice, and fundamental to project's success, that all the principal members of the team have a common understanding of the project objectives and communicate effectively with each other.
To be managed effectively an archaeological field project of any size must he organised in phases. These phases are:
| phase 1 | Project planning |
| Phase 2 | Fieldwork |
| Phase 3 | Assessment of potential far analysis |
| Phase 4 | Analysis and report preparation |
| Phase 5 | Dissemination |
Each of these phases should have clearly defined objectives and be appropriately resourced in terms of staff equipment, time, and costs.
Regular review of a project's results is essential if academically acceptable objectives are to be consistently pursued and appropriately resourced. The purpose of such review is to establish the significance of the results at each phase and to define the work needed as a consequence in the subsequent phase. This is achieved through sequential and phase-related project documentation:
| phase 1 | Project design, which defines the objectives of the whole project and gives an outline of the overall resources likely to be necessary to achieve these |
| Phase 2 | Site archive, which records all the primary data collected during fieldwork |
| Phase 3 | Assessment report, which states the academic potential of the data in the site archive |
| Updated project design which sets out the further work considered necessary to fulfil this academic potential | |
| Phase 4 | Research archive, which records the data resulting from the analysis phase and forms the basis of the final report |
| Report text for publication, which reflects the importance of the results of the project and their contribution to archaeological knowledge | |
| Phase 5 | Publication |
| Project archive for deposition |
The progress during each stage of a project will usually be externally monitored. The level of external monitoring will have to be agreed in advance with the project sponsor. Any changes to the design of a project may have to be negotiated as part of the project monitoring undertaken by the project sponsor, but in any case they must be recorded and communicated to all concerned. A system of quality control must also be in place to ensure that work is carried out to an acceptable professional standard.
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Last updated: Thu Oct 8 1998