Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (640 page)

A building used for religious observance and relaxation by members of a corporation or guild.

 
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The use of methods from the physical, medical, natural, and biological sciences to answer archaeological questions.

 
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An advisory committee of the Natural Environment Research Council in Britain. Founded in 1978 to encourage and support research into the development and extension of scientific methods in archaeology. In 1998 the Committee changed its name to the Science-Based Archaeological Strategy Group.

 
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Grossly simplified, this means making an observation, developing an idea to explain the observation, turning the idea into a theoretical proposition or hypothesis, and then testing the theory against further observations made in a way that is replicable. Many archaeologists wish to adhere to such a method to ensure objectivity in their work. Essentially positivist in outlook, the quest for explanation is sometimes labelled critical rationalism. In archaeology, as in other social sciences, there are several inherent problems in applying the scientific method. One is the interdependency of the test observations with the theoretical assumptions of the hypothesis. Another is that because every piece of data collection involves unique circumstances it is almost impossible to replicate observations. For many archaeologists any use of the scientific method as an objective route to knowledge about the past is extremely implausible.

 
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Type of late Neolithic tomb dating to the late 3rd and early 2nd millennia
bc
found in the extreme southwest of England, the Isles of Scilly, and a few restricted areas of coastland around the Irish Sea. Typically a Scillian entrance grave comprises a small round cairn up to 10m in diameter, delimited by a kerb of orthostats, and containing a rectangular chamber opening from the outer kerb. The chamber is usually roofed with a small number of large stone slabs. Cremation is the usual burial rite and grave goods are rare.

 
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A type of later prehistoric settlement found in northern England and southern Scotland. Each consists of a series of scoops and platforms lying within a stone enclosure wall or bank, generally situated on hillslopes above the valley floor in non-defensive positions. The size of the enclosures varies, some being homesteads with a single enclosed scoop and a slight platform through to large examples with perhaps ten scoops and floors separated by unexcavated ridges.

 
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