The concept of clustering provides the fundamental conceptual underpinning for integrative analysis. Building on the inner-referential clustering of stratigraphic and typological analysis, and expanding it to include any possible element from whatever context. A complex interaction among elements emerges, which opens ever wider windows onto the historical significance of the finds from the excavation.
The recognition of typologically defined elements is helped and enlarged by comparative analysis with elements that are not only not in contact in the same excavation, but also and especially by elements from other sites. This applies to elements of the built environment as well as to movable items: a “palace” or a “temple” can be so defined because of the structural similarities with what is found at other sites, and the same goes for a seal or a ceramic vessel.
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