Phasing
Definition
The grouping of contexts into episodes of activity based on the Harris Matrix sequence. A grave may have a single phase (dug once, never disturbed) or multiple phases (reopened, bodies added, subsequently disturbed by machinery).
- Concept
- Grouping contexts into episodes of activity
- Basis
- Sequence established by the Harris Matrix
- Single-phase grave
- Dug once and never disturbed
- Multi-phase grave
- Reopened, reused, or later disturbed
Common questions
How does phasing help interpret a forensic burial excavation?+
Grouping the recorded contexts into phases lets investigators reconstruct the order of events at the grave, such as whether a body was added after an earlier disturbance or whether later ground works cut through the original burial.
Can phasing on its own establish an absolute date for a burial?+
No. Phasing establishes relative sequence, which context happened before or after another, but converting that sequence into calendar dates requires independent dating evidence such as artefacts, stratigraphic anchors, or scientific dating methods.
Related terms
- Context
- The smallest unit of stratigraphic record: a single deposit (fill, layer), a single feature (cut, pit), or a standing structure. Each context...
- Cut
- The void created by removing earth, for example a grave shaft, a post-hole, or a ditch. A cut is always older than...
- Fill
- Material that entered a cut after it was made, whether backfilled deliberately, slumped from the sides, or accumulated naturally. A grave typically...
- Harris Matrix
- A two-dimensional directed graph in which each box is a single context and connecting lines represent stratigraphic relationships. Vertical position encodes temporal...
- Natural
- The undisturbed geological or pedogenic deposit that predates any human activity at the site. Identifying where 'natural' begins is how excavators establish...