Strategies to Document, Record & Store Key Information (Trevor Creighton)
Channel: EXARC
Date: 2020-03-27

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Abstract: Butser Ancient Farm has been at the forefront of experimental archaeology in Britain for over 45 years. The pioneering work of Peter Reynolds defined the experimental evaluation of Iron Age structures and agriculture in the UK and has had an international impact. Butser Ancient Farm has in more recent years extended its remit beyond the Iron Age. The expansion commenced in 2003 with a Romano-British villa and has proceeded rapidly since 2014 to encompass the Neolithic and Anglo-Saxon periods. The site now has 12 major experimental buildings with numerous ancillary structures. The pace of expansion has necessitated the careful consideration of strategies to document, record and store key information about the archaeology from which the buildings are derived; the rationale and processes involved in their construction; their interpretation and usage; and the recording of subsequent phases of research, including the documentation of their decay and of the archaeological data derived from their demise. Beyond the obvious material considerations, we are also developing methodologies for capturing the experiential impressions of those involved in the construction and later use of the building. Key to this system, which is still at the implementation stage, is consistency, clarity, and ease of access. This presentation will seek to illustrate the processes and provide examples of their outcomes in the hope of contributing to a system through which information may be stored and shared on a broad, consistent, international platform.
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