General Pitt Rivers - Quotations
General Pitt Rivers
Augustus Henry Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers
(14 Apr 1827 - 4 May 1900)

English archaeologist often called the "father of British archaeology," who stressed the need for total excavation of sites, thorough stratigraphic observation and recording, and prompt and complete publication. 

“No excavation ought to ever be permitted except under the immediate eye of a responsible and trustworthy superintendent.”
“Superfluous precision may be regarded as a fault on the right side.”
“Tedious as it may appear to some to dwell on the discovery of odds and ends that have, no doubt, been thrown away by the owner as rubbish ... yet it is by the study of such trivial details that Archaeology is mainly dependent for determining the date of earthworks.”
Augustus Henry Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers
Some of the basic principals of digging he adopted
as quoted from Quest for the Past: Great Discoveries in Archaeology
by Brian Fagan (1994)
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