This accessible and comprehensive illustrated guide is ideal for anyone with a passion for the past. It is both a hands-on resource for the new enthusiast – student or volunteer – attending their first dig, and a superb professional reference book and practical manual for the many specialized and exciting fields of advanced archaeological practice, from forensics applied to burial sites to deciphering ancient languages. The varied techniques involved in planning and conducting an excavation are unravelled stage-by-stage, from the initial surface-sampling of a site to the post-excavation practice of dating finds and building matrices. Learn how to locate hidden features through map regression, by studying aerial photographs, or by accessing inventories; walk a site to sample the finds turned up by farming or take part in a comprehensive site survey using geophysical technology. Attend a dig and make your first cut with a trowel, then proceed to fully excavate part of the site, right down to the natural geology, recovering and recording evidence of early settlers as you go. Find out what happens to finds once they are recovered, and learn about the different methods of placing them in context, from stratigraphy to seriation. Delve into deep time with a chronological section on the major archaeological periods – witness the human migrations that began with the Upper Palaeolithic Revolution, and progressed towards the great technologies of the later stone and metal ages, and culminated in the most pioneering of classical and post-classical civilizations. Sections on the key techniques associated with different types of site, from churches and temples to industrial complexes, plusdiscussions of educational opportunities, policing local heritage, and experimental archaeology, will inspire the amateur to build a special interest and potentially develop a field of study or a fully fledged career. With a total of 700 color photographs and illustrative artworks, this is a fantastic reference source book and practical handbook for new and experienced archaeologists everywhere.