Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (584 page)

 
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A rectangular area defined for data collection or analysis within a sampling scheme.

 
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Developed passage grave on the Orkney island of Mainland extensively excavated by Colin Renfrew in 1972–4. The mound was circular in plan, 30m in diameter, and up to 3.2m high. In the centre was a rectangular chamber 6.1m by 1.6m, with a corbel-vaulted roof and six side cells opening from it. The chamber was approached by a narrow passage from the east. Within the excavated part of the chamber were the disarticulated remains of 157 individuals; multiplied up to take account of the areas not excavated, there may have been as many as 400 individuals represented in the tomb. Renfrew suggests that the tomb was used by a small egalitarian community, perhaps an extended family, over a period of up to 1000 years.
[Rep.: C. Renfrew , 1979,
Investigations in Orkney
. London: Society of Antiquaries]

 
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The measurement of key defined attributes and dimensions of an object, assemblage, or site in order to characterize it and allow comparisons to be made with other similarly quantified material. Comparisons are often based on statistical analysis of the populations under study.

 
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Extraction pits, worked exposures, mines, and other kinds of working areas where natural substances and raw materials such as stone, flint, or metal ores were obtained.

 
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Small denomination coin of the later Iron Age in Europe.

 
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Opaque white crystalline silicate stone found in many parts of the world and variously used for toolmaking and in ceremonial contexts. In Atlantic Europe white quartz pebbles were used as talismans, perhaps representing the soul of a person, from the early Neolithic through into early Christian times. White quartz is frequently found deposited around
STONE CIRCLES
and
PASSAGE GRAVES
.
Quartzite is a metamorphic rock consisting mainly of quartz which was also used for making tools and weapons, as it is hard and has conchoidal fracturing properties just like flint.