Historical development of the Grammar
Stages

Giorgio Buccellati – January 2025

Introductory

It is fifty years now since the begining of the Terqa excavations, and the concern for a grammatical dimension of the recording process dates back to that time, when digitality was still in the offing. This concern had remained coherent over the years, while going through a number of stages. The long gestation time is due largely to two main factors.

The tight link to digitality meant that we were dependent on the progress of the hard- and soft-ware we were using. This conditioned heavily the applicability of the theoretical model, one important side benefit being that the theory emerged more and more as the guiding light that would remain constant all the way through the changes which were often very consequential.
There was an equally tight link with the applicability of the system to field conditions, first at Terqa and then at Urkesh. It was indispensable to have the model tested, and in addition to the changing field conditions (including the introduction of computers to the field) there was a need to keep the staff involved and receptive of the many changes that would take place.

Pre-digital (1970s)

While the intellectual goals were clear in my mind since the early stages of my effort, published references were limited. The main reason for this was the need to accompany the theory with a substantial and fully coherent body of data that would exemplify the application of the theory. One important publication was the 1978 IIMAS Field Encoding Manual (Non-digital), published as ARTANES 2. It was in function of the Terqa excavations, which had begun in 1976.

By 1978 we already had in place some of the earliest versions of micro-computers, as they were called in contrast with mainframe and mini-computers (the latter being mid-size machines). In fact, they were not micro at all in size, though they were so in digital power. But, as I just mentioned, the concomitant beneficial effect of these limitations was that my attention was constantly directed at the importance of the theoretical framework above and beyond the niceties of the machines. The ARTANES 2 title stresses the “non-digital” aspect, because at that time we were not yet ready for a fully digital implementation, but were well aware that we were working towards such an implementation.

Early formalization (1980-90s)

Already at Terqa, and then especially at Urkesh, the system became more formalized for digital use, as truly portable computers (“laptops”) became accessible. This took the shape of well developed Encoding Manuals, which were meant to serve primarikly the needs of data entry during the excavations. Each new season had an updated version of the encoding manual, until the 1996 version reached a stage which remained substantially unchanged in later seasons.

The theoretical framework was strong, but it remained implicit. Only a few points were highlighted, especially in a page giving the “Principles and presuppositions” of the system, which I have included now as “axioms” in the UGR website.

Consolidation (2000s)

Out of the encoding manuals came the grammar proper. From the start, this was intended to be a separate website, one that would insert the coding system within a broader theoretical framework concerning especially statigraphy and typology (accessed from the left side bar), and provide a how to guide for the practical operations (accessed from the right side bar).

The website began to provide an initial statement about the broader framework within which the codification would apply. For example, the codes about strata are seen from the point of view of clustering:

The notion of clustering finds its prime realization in the concept of stratum. This is a cluster of elements arranged according to the type of contact, and sorted according to nesting criteria that result in discrete wholes. These wholes are defined by the congruence of the elements in contact (e.g., a series of pits cut into a single accumulation), and by broad elements that extend to an entire volumetric unit (e.g., a floor that covers the entire surface of a locus). (Grammar version 1, 2009)

This went beyond the simple definition of the codes, and it was largely implemented in 2009 and 2010, but, qua version 1, it remained an unfinished task until I resumed the full revision of the Grammar which comes to fruition now with this current version (2).

Bifurcation (2010s)

Following the suspension of the excavations at the site of Urkesh in 2011, a more sustained effort came into effect with regard to the entire system. What soon emerged was the need to give pride of place to the theoretical aspect: this resulted in the publication of the volume A Critique of Aechaeological Reason and the concomitant website. The theory was here expanded and placed within a wider framework that that of the Urkesh project. See also below.

The Grammar website came thus to be dedicated specifically to this project. It was the concretization of the theoretical principles, aiming to show how the principlea could operate in practice. It still would serve the purpose of the Encoding Manuals, guiding the staff during excavations, but showing at the same time how definitions and operations would fit within the wider theoretical framework that had been formulated in the Critique volume. This first version remained in a preliminary state of completion.

Finalization (2020s)

As I am now bringing the process to its conclusion, I opted for one further bifurcation:

the Grammar proper (this website) deals with the definition of the elements, seen in their full context: it is so that elements become constituents. Thus when dealing with stratigraphy a sharp distinction is proposed between four different aspects, and it is within each of these that the elements have to understood.
I opted for a second website to deal instead with the operations. How do we deal with the elements once they have been defined requires a different set of skills: this task is indirectly “grammatical,” in that it is tightly linked to the grammatical “universe,” but it is essentially a reference tool used to create the archive which includes the totality of the elements – the “global record.”

A Grammar of the Archaeological Record (Version 2, Beta release)

Introduction

Historical development of the GrammarStages