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Storage as preservation
In its most general sense, storage is preservation. When removed from their original context, movable items need to be housed in such a way as to be, precisely, preserved in a good condition. The typological identity of an item is independent of its place, meaning that a jar, for instance, remains a jar regardless of whether it is on an ancient floor or in a case in a Museum. And preservation aims typically at preserving this typological identity.
The archaeologist’s task, on the other hand, is to identify and retain the context, to which the typological identity of objects is subordinated. But obviously objects cannot be preserved in the open air setting in which they are discovered, and thus preservation means to extract the objects from the ground for safekeeping.
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