Activity: Stratigraphy puzzle
Where?
This is an activity for you to lead either at a suitable site in the New Forest National Park (e.g. visit to an archaeological dig) or your nearest National Park, or in the classroom using the internet.
Who for?
Key stage - England and Wales
Level - Scotland
Who by?
This activity is for you to take, using the resources below. You may also want to arrange a talk by a local archaeologist - either on site or in the classroom.
Activity aims:
The resources for this case study can be adapted to suit the age and curriculum needs of each student.
Students will learn about stratigraphy - the study of layers or rock and earth and how this is used by archaeologists to date finds during excavations.
If a layer (or strata) contains finds which can be dated then that complete layer can be dated. By studying the different layers of material on a site archaeologists can work out the order in which things happened - even if a later feature has cut through earlier ones as, say, a new ditch would.
Students will learn about:
- how rock, soil, traces of plants and animals settle on the earth's surface in layers
- how the layer of earth on the bottom is the oldest and the layer on top is the youngest
- how each layer differs in colour, texture and structure
- how human materials and artefacts occur together in layers
- how these layers form a record of past events
- how archaeologists use this knowledge to date items they find during an excavation
What you will need:
- Photos or images of different archaeological layers - e.g. www.berkeley.edu/strata
- Background information on archaeology - print this PDF here: www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/archaeologists_teachers_notes
- Stratigraphy quiz - print out the PDF here: stratigraphy_puzzle.pdf
- Pens or pencils to fill in the quiz sheet
