Demolition
In 1976 the NSW State Government decided to convert the Barracks into a museum. While unwanted structures and partitions were being removed, workmen discovered old foundations & important artifacts.
Archaeology
The study of people's lives in the past, through the things they've left behind. Usually this material is discovered under the ground but can be buried inside buildings as well as outdoors.
Historical archaeology
Australia focuses on history for which there is a written & visual record - from 1788 to the present. Buildings & ruins, landscapes & shipwrecks, sewerage & rubbish pits are all of interest to historical archaeologists.
Research
A thorough search of documents, references and images is needed to justify an excavation. At the Barracks, areas of historic interest were pin-pointed and knowing the places most at risk, an excavation was planned.
Trenches
Trenches are the holes that an archaeologist digs. They are rectangular or square & their exact location is surveyed and pegged out before digging starts. The sides of the trench are kept straight to show soil layers or strata that have built up over time.
Excavation
Working from the surface down, archaeologists carefully scrape away one layer of soil at a time. The layers of soil, how they relate to buried architectural structures, artifacts and to each other and whether they've been disturbed creates a blueprint to the past.
Artifacts
ARTEFACTS are a sign of human activity on site but archaeologists don't dig for objects. If they are found, artifacts may add to the information about how a site was used and help date the soil layer or feature uncovered with them.
Evidence
Once the exact arrangement of soil, features & artifacts has been disturbed it can never be restored. Step by step recording of evidence as it is revealed is essential for an archaeologist in documenting a site and for study later on.
Plans and sections
Soil layers and buried remains are described as they appear. Written descriptions are supported blans of each surface. Vertical section diagrams record soil layers and show how they have built up over time
Context
When an object is found it isn't just dug out to see what it is. The surrounding soil is carefully cleared away until the feature is seen in its context. All the objects from one soil layer are placed on labelled artifact trays and sent to be cleaned.
Photographs
Photographs are taken to transfer the record in the soil into the archaeologist's records. A picture is worth a thousand words when showing the exact arrangement of soil layers, features & objects or the way an excavation was done.
Computer inventory
Computer inventory of the catalogue allows the data to be added to and manipulated with greater ease. Artifact information can be sorted, listed & printed out for research and
collection management purposes.
collection management purposes.
Catalouging
Catalouguing artifacts can take ten times longer than digging them up. Each object is examined and listed with its number of pieces, condition and where found. The aim of the catalogue is to collate all the artifact information for use when studying the sits.
Sorting
Sorting bags of mixed objects into single categories is usually done by the material from which they are made. Each artifact type is put into a new bag with its location and material marked. These are then packed into material type boxes.
Cleaning
Cleaning finds removed layers of soil, clay or dust taking care not to remove any surface finishes. After washing, objects were set out to air dry with their labels attached. Once clean all were re-bagged and sent to the sorters.
Sieving
the deposits and dust vacuumed from joist space ensured even the smallest items were saved. dust musks had to be worn constantly and rat urine in the deposits caused the archaeologists' sandshoes to wear out rapidly.
Retrieval
Once a system for recording the context of objects was worked out, major objects were marked onto plans and placed in labelled bags. The rest of the deposits were then put into labelled buckets and sent downstairs to be sieved.
Deposits
The age and number of objects found in the joist spaces usually depended upon the age of the ceiling they had accumulated on. areas where early lath and plaster ceilings still existed above more modern ceilings yielded the richest deposits.
Joist space
The grid system of beams and joists was used to identify the spaces between floor and ceiling for recording the location of finds. beams run across the width of a building and joists stretch between them to support the floorboards.
Underfloor at the barracks
Objects were found inside the building when the floorboards were taken up. Buried above the ground, these artifacts had no soil context in which to record their accumulation.