6.9: A Surface Survey Reading List


It may be helpful to provide a reading list to explore the aspects of surface survey not covered in this brief guide. These books and articles are at different levels, from popular to more specialist, some old classics, some newer.

Aston, M. and Rowley, T. 1974, 'Landscape Archaeology: An Introduction to Fieldwork Techniques on Post-Roman Landscapes', David & Charles ISBN-13: 978-0715366707) O/P

Aston M. 1985. Interpreting the Landscape: Landscape Archaeology and Local History . London and New York: Routledge.

Banning, E.B. 2002, 'Archaeological Survey', (Kluwer Academic / Plenum - ).

Brown A.E. 1988, 'Fieldwork for Archaeologists and Local Historians'  (Batsford, ISBN 13: 978071344842) O/P

Collins, J.M., Molyneaux B.L. 2003, 'Archaeological Survey (Archaeologist's Toolkit) ' (AltaMira Press ISBN-13: 978-0759100213)


English Heritage 2007 'Our Portable Past', 2018 'Our Portable Past'. 

Fowler P.J. (ed) 'Recent Work in Rural Archaeology' (Bradford on Avon Moonraker ) O/P.

Francovich, R. and Patterson, H. (eds) 2000, 'Extracting Meaning from Ploughsoil Assemblages' (The Archaeology of the Mediterranean Landscape, Populus Monograph, 5, Oxbow Books ISBN-13: 978-1900188753)

Haselgrove, C., Millett, M. and Smith, I. (eds) 1985, 'Archaeology from the Ploughsoil. Studies in the Collection and Interpretation of Field Survey Data' (Sheffield: Department of Archaeology and Prehistory, University of Sheffield ISBN 978-0906090541).

Molyneaux, B.L. 2005, 'Archaeological Survey' pp.106-32 [In:] C. Chippendale and H.D.G. Maschner (eds)'' Handbook of Archaeological Methods', Volume 1. AltaMira Press: Lanham, ISBN-13: 978-0759100787)

Schofield , J. (ed.) 1991, 'Interpreting Artefact Scatters: Contributions to Ploughzone Archaeology', (Oxbow Monographs 4, ISBN-13: 978-0946897254)


Witcher, R.E. 2006, 'Broken Pots and Meaningless Dots? Surveying the Rural Landscapes of Roman Italy', Papers of the British School at Rome, 74: 39-72. (Available online if you have legal JStor access).

There's much more (from the Mediterranean and Near East especially), but increasing the size of the reading list only decreases the chance anybody is ever going to read any of it. 

 This reading list is adapted from a PACHI blog post (What the PAS is not Telling YOU Wednesday, 19 March 2014). Comments on updating it will be gratefully received. 


 Tamara Kroftova comments:
"Again, how can any artefact hunter claim that he or she 'knows' about how evidence of the past can be recovered from examining surface sites without actually doing any research into what has been written about how evidence of the past can be recovered from examining surface sites? Simply focusing on hoiking objects out of the ground and recording (or not) an 'x-marks-the-spot' findspot is again simply a naive and unreflexive denial of what differentiates the proper study of the past from mere Treasure Hunting".


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