Context Plan
Definition
A hand-drawn plan at a standard scale (typically 1:10 or 1:20) showing the outline and internal features of one context. Drawn before the context is removed, it captures relationships not fully preserved in photographs.
- Field
- Site photography and illustration
- Typical scale
- 1:10 or 1:20
- Timing
- Drawn before the context is removed
- Value over photos
- Captures relationships photographs miss
Common questions
Why draw a context plan when the site is already being photographed?+
A photograph is a fixed perspective that can distort scale and obscure edges under certain lighting, while a hand-drawn plan lets the excavator record precise boundaries, internal features, and spatial relationships to adjacent contexts at a consistent scale, capturing interpretive detail a camera cannot convey.
What information on a context plan would be lost if only photographs were kept?+
Interpreted boundaries between subtly different soil colours or textures, annotated relationships to neighbouring contexts, and measured dimensions at true scale are often clearer in a drawn plan than in a photo, where lighting and angle can obscure faint distinctions the excavator could see and interpret in person.
Related terms
- Colour Checker
- A calibrated chart of known colour patches (typically the ColorChecker Classic, originally marketed as the Macbeth ColorChecker and now produced by Calibrite,...
- Photographic Log
- A written record, kept on site alongside the context records, that logs each photograph with its file name, date, time, photographer, subject...
- RAW Format
- A camera capture format that records unprocessed sensor data, preserving all original exposure and colour information. RAW files are preferred over JPEG...
- Scale Bar
- A physical ruler or L-shaped measuring device placed in the field of view before a photograph is taken. It provides a known...
- Section Drawing
- A vertical cut through the excavated sequence, drawn at 1:10 or 1:20, showing the relative positions, depths, and angles of all contexts...