- Marking ofMacula de
Black Burnished Ware
sherd marked with
catalogue number
The marking of finds may be slightly different between sites but as we are dealing here with Arbeia the markings will be used as such. And the most important details to go onto a find are the Site Code. For South Shields the first part of the code is SS followed by the last two numbers of the year the find was made: 11 for 2011 and 12 for 2012 etc. This number is followed by a space and then the CONTEXT NUMBER. When a context number is placed on the find it must be separated from the Site Code and year by a space and the numbers 0, 1 and 7 needs to be written carefully. No bars through the zero - do not make the 1 look like a 7 and no continental 7 is allowed. Also S needs to be clear as it could look like a 5 and so on.
Any numbers placed on the find must not be placed in the centre of the piece and must therefore be positioned near the edge. The broken edge of a pot can only be written on if the edge is extremely smooth. The the inside curve of pottery is the usual place to mark a piece unless it is more decorative than the outside. This is common in decorative plates. Care must always be taken not to mark on or near any original stamping or decoration. Care must always be taken when it comes to marking finds and if ever in doubt one must always seek a supervisor‘s advice.
Usually when finds are marked a black ink is used except where black will not be seen on a find and so white would be used instead. The black ink used lasts longer than the white so the latter is used sparingly. Another point to note here is when marking a find, remember, that the Site Code, year and context number are marked onto it. There is, however, another number that appears on trays and this is used elsewhere on site and must not be carried to the marking of the find.