The excavation process

When the evaluation confirms the presence of archaeological deposits worthy of scientific interest, and that they are adequately preserved, the State may prescribe a preventive excavation. This is the case in 20% of evaluations. The archaeological work forms the basis of a contract between the developer and the operator of its choice (Inrap or any other operator accredited by the State).

The field evaluation follows the sequence of the archaeological layers, each of which corresponds to a point in the history of the site. All the excavated deposits are recorded and documented (topographic surveys, drawings, photographs, plans and sections), and the archaeological material is transferred to the centre for archaeological research.

The scientific data collected in the field is then mined by the archaeologists so they can reconstruct the history of the site — its human occupation and evolution across the centuries. These findings are recorded in a report submitted by the operator to the State services.

Prescription and operating contract

The developer that is planning to carry out work calls on Inrap, an accredited regional archaeological service or any other person governed by public or private law, whose scientific competence is certified by the State through accreditation.

The developer is the contracting authority for the excavations. These form the subject of a contract or agreement with the chosen operator following verification by the Regional Archaeology Service that is the competent authority for checking conformity for all tenders eligible for consultation.

The contract signed between the project developer and the operator responsible for carrying out the excavations includes the price and deadlines for completion.

When no operator applies or fulfils the necessary conditions, Inrap is obliged to undertake the excavations at the request of the developer.

Inrap then draws up a contract with the developer. The State gives permission for the operations to begin after ensuring that the contract complies with the prescription for the excavations.

Inrap’s on-site intervention

Excavation process

The excavation work begins by setting up the site huts and organising an earthmoving plan.

The area to be studied is stripped, with the topsoil removed so that the first archaeological levels can be accessed. Each layer corresponds to a precise moment in the site’s history, and these layers guide the work of the hydraulic digger. The layers are plotted by the archaeologists (sometimes assisted by a geologist) according to their colour, texture and the deposits they contain.

The excavation process includes the soil stratigraphy, i.e. the sequence of the strata or layers. Although the earliest layers are usually covered by more recent deposits, the soil from different eras may not always survive; sometimes only the deepest pits are spared by erosion. When this is the case, the archaeological material is used to link the structures to a given period.

As the excavations progress, sections are made and site surveys carried out to establish the site’s preservation by record.

The archaeologist is assisted by a topographer to analyse the spatial orientation, with the latter using a theodolite to take detailed measurements so that an accurate site plan may be drawn up.

Archaeological material

When archaeological material is unearthed, it is marked with the details of where it was found — the site, zone and layer or structure number — before being transferred to the archaeological HQ to be cleaned. In some cases, it is necessary to consolidate the material in situ before it is removed.

The value of the data recorded about the archaeological material in its context (the stratigraphic position, drawings and in situ photographs) is often more important than the object itself.

Exploiting the excavation data

After the excavations in the field have been completed, the scientific data continues to be exploited in the archaeological research centre. The work begins with the preliminary classification of all the site documents together with the final operations for cleaning and marking the finds.

A timetable is drawn up, with different tasks allocated to the members of the team, whose composition changes at this point: fewer staff are generally used to exploit the data than are deployed in the field. Depending on the nature of the deposits, some specific tasks may be assigned to new specialists.

Priority is given to dating the deposits so that the chronology of the entire site may be reconstructed. The stratigraphy observed in the field is reproduced and compared to the material discovered in order to date the successive human occupations.

Based on an initial global plan that includes all the deposits, comprehensive plans per chronological phase are drawn up.

These give an overall picture of the site: living quarters begin to emerge, alongside workshops, enclosures, farming areas, burial plots, etc.

Description, classification and analysis

At the same time, the archaeological material that has been recovered is analysed and the documents regarding the site — from archives or developed in the field — are contextualised.

Depending on the nature of the deposits, specific studies are launched without delay, while the analysis of selected objects is entrusted to individual specialists or laboratories (the study of ceramics, metal objects, skeletal deposits, etc.).

Excavation report: reconstructing the site’s history

This is followed by the report-writing stage, which consists of a written analysis of the evolution of the site supported by drawings and photographs of structures, objects or elements selected from the archaeological material. The results of the studies and analyses are incorporated into the text to inform our understanding of the site.

The final step is to draw up an inventory of all the collected material; these inventories are then transferred to the State services. The final excavation report may serve as the basis for a scientific publication. Under French law, Inrap’s mission is to keep records of all the archaeological excavations carried out in the country.

​Ownership of archaeological material

Archaeological material discovered during preventive archaeology excavations is entrusted to the operator. After the report has been submitted, and within two years at the latest, the operator must hand over the material — and scientific documentation — to the State so that it can be archived.

Archaeological material found during preventive excavations undertaken before the LCAP law of July 7, 2016 entered into force, on land acquired before the law came into force, belong equally to the State and the landowner. If the latter, one year after receiving the excavation report, has not asserted its rights to the relevant material, it is considered to have renounced the right. In this event, the ownership of the material is passed free of charge to the State, which may in turn transfer it to any natural person, when said person so requests and undertakes to ensure its proper preservation.

Where the owner does not waive its right of ownership, the State may exercise its right to assert a claim, subject to paying compensation fixed by mutual agreement or after expert opinion.

Archaeological material found during preventive excavations undertaken after the LCAP law of July 7, 2016 entered into force, on land acquired before the law came into force, are deemed to belong to the landowner. The State becomes the owner only if the landowner expressly or tacitly renounces its right. To do this, the State must notify the owner of its rights. The objects are also entrusted to the State for the duration of their scientific study for a maximum period of five years.

Archaeological material found during preventive excavations undertaken after the LCAP law of July 7, 2016 entered into force, on land acquired after the law came into force, are deemed to belong to the State. If the landowner expresses its desire to retain ownership of the material, the State has the option of prescribing measures to ensure the proper preservation of, and access to, said material.

The concept of a coherent whole, the scientific interest of which warrants the conservation of archaeological material in its entirety, submits any alienation of an archaeological object or group, together with any division of such a group, to prior notification to the State.

Disseminating results

Inrap’s mission is to contribute to the teaching, cultural dissemination and promotion of archaeology.

Various means are used to ensure this mission is carried out among the scientific community and general public, such as through brochures, publications, exhibitions, and audio-visual and multimedia documents as well as on the radio and websites, and through open houses and educational workshops, etc.