Translations:AY Honors/Biblical Archaeology/Answer Key/31/en

In a broad sense, stratigraphy is the study of rock layers, but Archaeological Stratigraphy is based on the same idea. The location of an artifact below ground is key to understanding the item in context with other items. Archaeologists look that the strata (or layers) of a site to understand it. If you were to did in Rome for example, near the surface you might find modern trash, asphalt, and Euro coins. As you go deeper into other strata you might find items from the Middle Ages and then the Roman Empire and finally perhaps pre-Empire items. Pottery and coins are good indicators of what historical layer you are digging through.

Tell Barri (northeastern Syria)

View of the Citadel of Aleppo (northern Syria), built on top of a tell occupied since at least the third millennium BC