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ABCD Glossary

Guide to the content of each field in each table

In the following detailed notes explaining the content of each field in each table, the tables are listed in the numbered order in which they appear in XXXX. The field names for each table are given, together with a brief description of their attributes. Note that, as a rule, '?' or '??' is used in any alphanumeric field where information is either missing from a report or could not easily be determined during abstracting.

I. ABSITES | II. ABREPRTS | III. REPLISTS | IV. TAXLISTS | V. WORKED | VI. WHOSWHO | VII. CONTEXTS | VIII. SAMPLES | IX. PROBS | X. CHECKLIST | XI. PARTS | XII. COUNTIES | XIII. COUNTRY | XIV. ABCDBIBS | Abbreviations

I. ABSITES

...provides some very basic information on the archaeological sites

absite
name of the excavated site and the date of the excavation
location
the nearest modern settlement, usually a village or town (for rural sites), or the modern town or city in which the site was located (for urban sites)
categ
a phrase describing the archaeological site type such as 'hill fort', 'occupation site', 'monastic site'; a coded version of this is given for individual species lists in sitetype in REPLISTS
notes
notes relating to the excavation techniques or conditions, the sampling methodology or the archaeology
period
period(s) covered and/or the date range of the site, in words; a coded version of this appears at the level of individual species lists indatecode in REPLISTS
topog
topographical location of the site, at the time of formation of the archaeological deposits, including any other relevant information given in the report; not coded (e.g. coastal, hill top, gravel river terrace, lowland)
cond
condition of site at the time of the excavation, e.g. under water, waterlogged or dry; two-letter code
gridsq
100 km grid square reference given as both letters and numbers, e.g. SK 43; for users of the Environmental Archaeology Bibliography (EAB), 100 m grid co-ordinates are given in table SITES (these should be available in future releases of the ABCD)

II. ABREPRTS

...gives details of each archaeobotanical report

report
a numerical code for each botanical report, used to link this table with two other tables in the ABCD (and to link the ABCD to the EAB)
absite
site name -- relates to site in ABSITES
pubdate
the year the work was published
reptype
the type of report, i.e. what type of material was analysed; a one-letter code (where separate reports on different classes of material appear together in a publication, e.g. reports on charcoal and on 'seeds', they will usually be given separate report numbers)

III. REPLISTS

...links ABREPRTS (via report) to TAXLISTS (via list); two fields give additional information about each list

datecode
the date(s) of the list(s) of plant taxa given in TAXLISTS; more than one code can be used and these are separated by a full stop '.' or a colon ':'
sitetype
two-letter code; more than one code can be used and these are separated with a '/'

IV. TAXLISTS

...stores, for each list of taxa, any number of plant identifications and additional information about these identifications

list
taxon list number: the report number plus a letter to distinguish the list. Thus 1001a, 1001b and 1001c are the three list numbers for report 1001. This field links to list in REPLISTS (and hence to ABREPRTS and ABSITES)
N.B. For some sites, published data are compounded, such that the taxa from more than one sample for a given site are combined together into a single list (see sno in SAMPLES). The compound lists may thus represent all taxa from a given phase or group of related samples.
In future releases of the ABCD it is hoped to indicate which lists are compound and eventually to include all lists for all samples, as originally published or as available from the data archives of the worker concerned.
quant
quantification either as a number (up to 9,999) or a code indicating abundance, such as, p = present, +++ = abundant
part
three-letter code indicating the plant part, such as, pro = propagules or 'seeds'; (this field links to the PARTS table)
pres
mechanism by which the plant material is preserved, indicated by a one-letter code
prob
problem code; for explanation, see PROBS table
name
taxon name in, conforming to the names in CHECKLST; if in the report the taxon was given as 'spp.' (i.e. possible that more than one species is represented) then this will be indicated in PROBS, as will any other nomenclatural deviation from CHECKLST
abund
abundance code: a five-point scale converted from the actual numbers of remains recorded

V. WORKED

...links ABREPRTS to details of the archaeobotanists in WHOSWHO

report
botanical report number
init
initials of workers

VI. WHOSWHO

...gives details of archaeobotanists

init
initials of workers (links to WORKED)
info
full name and some indication of the place(s) and dates each person was working when the analyses published in the report were undertaken; this information is sometime difficult to deduce from the report as published

VII. CONTEXTS

...gives details about the context(s) from which the sample(s) came

list
taxon list number (see TAXLISTS)
cnumber
context number(s), as published; this may sometimes be a phase or trench number
N.B. The word context here is being used in its loose sense; it does not necessarily relate to a single archaeological context
type
context type description, in a minimum number of words, e.g. pit fill
integrity
context integrity code, on a scale of 0 to 3:
0
integrity cannot be judged
1 (low)
the material is not from a well-defined context, the archaeology is not particularly clear, or there is doubt about the sampling methods; samples may not relate to the archaeologist's contexts, layers or phasing
2 (medium)
the context is from a clearly-defined feature (or features) and the archaeology is clear but there is no indication that the context was particularly well sealed; there may be evidence from artefacts, for example, that the context contained re-worked materials
3 (high)
it is clear that the context is well sealed and clearly defined and the archaeological methodology was good; chance of contamination very low
cpres
preservation regime of material in the context
an
anaerobic (but not 'waterlogged')
bu
burnt material
de
desiccated
im
impression
mn
mineralised
mx
mixed material
nr
not recorded
si
silicified
wl
anoxic 'waterlogged'
??
unknown
sediment
sediment or 'soil' description, quoting directly from the report
cperiod
cultural period/date for the context, using the terminology given by the excavator
begin
'begin date' -- the earliest likely date of the context, given in absolute terms, using a minus sign for years BC; thus, 450 BC to AD 750 is recorded as begin date = -450, end date = 750. Where a radiocarbon date is used the date range will be given as twice the standard error, which is not far off the true 95% confidence limits. Thus '1400+/-40 BC' would be quoted as begin date = -1480 and end date = -1320. This uses calibrated dates where possible
end
end date -- the latest likely date (cf. begin)
method
main dating method(s) used for dating the contexts -- the dating evidence (e.g. radiocarbon assay) may not necessarily come from the actual layer which was sampled, but sufficiently near to it to be related/associated
validity
validity of the dating (irrespective of the date range shown in the begin/end fields), on a four-point scale; note, this will often be an interpretation of the evidence given in the report:
0
validity of dating cannot be judged from the report
1 (poor accuracy of dating)
the dating has been determined using stratigraphic relationship alone and the limits are only probable
2 (medium)
the dating has been determined using more than one independent method (e.g. stratigraphy plus artefact evidence) and the limits are reasonable; if there is a radiocarbon date from associated contexts, the validity would be medium
3 (high)
the dating has been determined using good stratigraphic and artefact evidence or good radiocarbon dating, or preferably both; the probability that the plant material is within the begin and end date limits is very high (contexts will rarely be given this high score!)
env
environmental interpretation, mainly taken from the report
arch
archaeological interpretation -- notes on the interpretation of the context from the archaeological evidence
tycode
four-letter codes for context type

VIII. SAMPLES

...details about samples and sampling methods

list
taxon list number (see TAXLISTS)
notaxa
total number of taxa in the list
sno
number of samples combined in the list (see note under list for TAXLISTS, above)
ssize
three-point scale (a-c) represents the following:
a
small samples, of the order of 0.5 kg or less
b
medium samples, of the order of 0.5-5 kg
c
large, usually bulk-sieved, samples and combined data
cno
total number of contexts represented by the taxon list
stype
type of sample:
c
charcoal and wood identifications
g
charred grain
p
pollen
i
impressions
m
macrofossils
q
not classified

Note: this may duplicate the information under reptype in ABREPRTS, but is used for each list rather than whole reports. For example, if one of the lists in what is basically a macrofossil report happens to be a list of charcoal identifications, then this field allows this distinction to be recorded. The stype field is currently incomplete and may be deleted from future versions of the ABCD

IX. PROBS

...provides a means of recording any problems or additional information about any one identification

list
taxon list number
prob
problem code
note
details about the problem; for example the taxonomic name used in the report, a note about contamination, the level of identification or an explanation of the quantification codes

X. CHECKLIST

...gives a full, unique, list of plant names which occur in the database. It is used when inputting plant and in future versions the inclusion of a taxon code field will permit sorting of results into taxonomic or alphabetic order rather than the order determined by Paradox® for alphanumeric fields

name
taxon name

XI. PARTS

...full list of the meanings of the abbreviations used in TAXLISTS for plant parts

part
three-letter code -- see TAXLISTS
part_name
explains part code

XII. COUNTIES and XIII. COUNTRY

...tables which provide 'translations' of the three-letter county code and one-letter country code fields in ABCDBIBS

XIV. ABCDBIBS

...the full bibliographic references are stored here (in the same structure as the EAB but with slightly altered field names):

repref
the reference to the archaeobotanical report, usually published within (and designated by the tag 'In:' at the end of the entry)
fullref
the main report (for some sites, the repref field is blank and the whole report title is given here)
journal
the journal or series in which the report was published
country
one-letter code: E = England, etc. (see COUNTRY)
county
three-letter code: DUR = Durham, etc. (see COUNTIES)

Lists of abbreviations used in various fields in the ABCD

Site conditions (at time of excavation, cond in ABSITES)

dr
dry (includes sites with 'waterlogged' preservation)
nr
not recorded
uw
underwater
wl
waterlogged (i.e. if very wet, such as wetland sites)
**
brief report; no details recorded

Types of report for reptype in ABREPRTS

c
charcoal/wood: concerned with charcoal and wood identifications only
g
cereal grain: individual identifications of, usually charred, cereals collected as 'spot' finds from the excavation
i
individual identifications: similar to 'g' reports but of non-cereal taxa collected as 'spot' finds
m
macrofossil reports: where actual 'samples' of sediment were taken from specified contexts and where there is usually additional information about 'sample' size, processing methods, and so on
p
pollen: usually pollen analysis carried out on the same material as the macrofossil work

Codes for datecodein REPLISTS

The codes are sorted here into alphabetical order (numbers, e.g. '15', are obviously 'century AD':

AS
Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian, Saxo-Norman or AD 850-1150
BA
Bronze Age (broad category)
BE
beaker (neolithic/early Bronze Age)
BI
Bronze Age/Iron Age transition
EB
early Bronze Age
EI
early Iron Age
EM
early medieval, i.e. AD 1150-1250 or mid C12th to mid C13th C AD
ER
early Roman ?C1st-2nd AD
ES
early Saxon or Dark Age, (depending on area) AD 400-650
HM
high medieval, i.e. AD 1250-1400 or mid C13th to beginning C15th
IA
Iron Age (broad category)
LB
late Bronze Age
LI
late Iron Age
LM
late medieval, i.e. AD 1400-1500 or beginning C15th to beginning C16th
LR
late Roman ?C3rd-4th AD
MB
middle Bronze Age
MD
medieval (broad category)
MI
mid Iron Age
ML
mesolithic
MO
modern, i.e. AD 1750 onwards
MR
mid Roman ?C2nd-3rd AD
MS
middle Saxon (including Anglian, Pictish) AD 650-850
ND
not dated, either because dating was too broad, too vague, not reported or impossible to achieve
NE
neolithic
PC
Pictish/Celtic/early Christian (outside Roman influence)
PH
prehistoric (very broad, for poorly-dated pre-Roman sites)
PM
post-medieval, i.e. AD 1500-1750 or beginning C16th to mid C18th
PR
post-Roman (includes cases where dating is very difficult)
RB
Romano-British, i.e. native British sites
RM
Roman, military sites only
RO
Roman (broad category)
SA
Saxon (broad category)

The datecode field is blank only where there are true missing data, i.e. if the information exists but has not been input

Types of site for sitetype in REPLISTS

The classification of site type will often vary through the archaeological sequence at a given site

Prehistoric
OS
open settlement
DS
defended settlement (i.e. hillfort, defended enclosure, broch)
Roman
Military
FS
fortress (i.e. legionary camp containing c. 6,000 men)
FR
fort (i.e. military camp smaller than a fortress, c. 500-1000 men)
ML
other military (e.g. signal stations)
Civilian (urban)
FT
founded town (i.e. Colonia, Municipia, Civitas capital)
ST
local centre (i.e. 'small towns')
Civilian (rural)
VL
villas (i.e. Romanised farmsteads)
NV
native (i.e. non-Romanised farmsteads and rural industrial sites)
VV
sites which might be either VL or NV
Medieval
MM
manor/moated site
FA
farm
MN
monastic
CN
castle
VI
village
TO
town
RP
royal palace
ID
industrial
MU
multi-type
Others (not period-defined)
BU
burial (cemetery, barrows)
NA
natural deposit
WR
wreck
RI
ritual site
ID
industrial
'Non-sites'
AR
where there is no information about a site, the plant material being related only to an artefact
SR
'stray' find of plant material, no site information
List of abbreviations for parts of plants in the PARTS table
abs
leaf abscission scar/s or leaf scar/s
and
androecium/ia
ant
anther/s
awn
awn/s
bas
bast fibre/s
bds
bud/s and/or bud-scale/s
blb
bulb/s or bulblet/s (e.g. Allium sativum)
bra
bract/s and bracteole/s
bri
brittle rachis internode/s
brk
bark fragment/s
brn
bran fragment/s (cereal periderm)
bsc
bud-scale/s
cal
calyx/calyces
cap
capsule/s, fruit capsule/s
cat
catkin/s (e.g. Alnus)
chf
chaff fragment/s (not further specified)
cle
cleistogene/s (e.g. Danthonia)
clm
culm fragment/s, culm node/s, 'straw'
cns
cone-scale/s (e.g. Alnus/Betula/Pinus)
col
coleoptile (sprouted cereals)
con
cone (whole cone, e.g. Pinus spp.)
cor
core/s (Malus spp.)
cot
cotyledon/s
cpl
capsule lid/s (Leguminosae)
cps
capsule fragment/s (Viola/Linum)
cts
catkin-scale/s
cup
cupule/s or cupule fragment/s, (e.g. Quercus)
cwd
charred wood (charcoal)
ear
complete ear/s of cereal
emb
embryo of charred cereal/s
end
endocarp (Malus)
fct
female catkin-scale/s
fef
fruit epidermis fragment/s
fgt
fragment/s
flb
floret base/s (Avena)
flo
floret/s (Avena)
fls
flower/s
frs
fruitstone/s
frt
fruit/s (whole or part)
fun
fungus/fungi
glb
glume base/s
glm
glume/s
hai
hair/s
hil
hilum/hila (e.g. Vicia/Pisum)
imp
impression/s or cast/s in pottery/burnt daub
inf
inflorescence/s
inv
involucral bract/s (e.g. Centaurea)
lef
leaf epidermis fragment/s
lid
capsule/pod lid/s (Sphagnum, Trifolium)
lmb
lemma base/s (Avena)
lsh
leaf/leaves and/or shoot/s (mosses)
lvs
leaves
mct
male catkin-fragment/s
mes
fruit mesocarp fragment/s
mgs
megaspore/s
mos
mosses (unidentified)
mwd
mineralised wood
not
not specified (cf. '???')
nts
nutshell/s
oog
oogonium/oogonia (e.g. Chara)
pal
palea/ae
pds
pod segment/s (e.g. Raphanus)
ped
pedicel/s
per
perianth/s (e.g. Rumex)
pet
petal/s
pin
pinnule/frond fragment/s (e.g. Pteridium)
pip
pip/s (e.g. Malus/Pyrus)
pis
pistil base/s ('tori' of Vaccinium)
plt
plaited rope fragment/s (e.g. Polytrichum)
plu
plumule/s, from germinating cereal
pod
pod/s
pol
pollen grain/s or spore/s
pri
prickle/s
pro
propagule/s, 'seed/s'
ptc
perithecium/perithecia
rai
rachis internode/s (cereals)
ran
rachis node/s
rch
rachis/rachises, rachis fragment/s
rhi
rhizome/s or root/s
rsc
rachis/petiole scale/s (Filicales)
rtw
root/twig fragment/s
sch
Scheben (flax processing debris)
scl
fungal sclerotia (e.g. Cenococcum)
sef
stem epidermis fragment/s
sfr
seed fragment/s
sht
shoot fragment/s or tip/s
sil
siliqua/ae
slc
silica material, unspecified
spb
spikelet base/s
spf
spikelet fork/s
spi
spine/s (e.g. Ulex)
spk
spikelet/s, spikelet part/s
spn
sclerenchyma 'spindle/s' (Eriophorum vaginatum)
spo
sporangium/ia
sta
stalk/s, fruit stalk/s
stc
sterile cell/s (e.g. Valerianella)
std
stigmatic disk/s
sti
stipule/s
stm
stem fragment/s (non-cereal)
sto
stone cell/s
swd
seaweed (unidentified)
ten
tendril/s
tho
thorn/s
tri
tough rachis internode/s
trn
tough rachis node/s
tst
testa fragment/s
tub
tuber/s
tur
turion/s (vegetative bud in Potamogeton)
twi
twig/s
veg
vegetative fragment/s, unspecified
wwd
'waterlogged' wood
???
not specified (cf. 'not')
?wd
wood, preservation unspecified
!!!
part is given in full in the PROBS table
Preservation of individual plant materials (pres in TAXLISTS)
a
anaerobic but not 'waterlogged'
c
charred
d
desiccated
i
impressions on pottery, daub, etc., or casts
m
mineralised
w
'waterlogged'
Problem codes linking TAXLISTS and PROBS
N
where different taxonomic names have been used which makes the identification unclear; the name given in the report should appear in PROBS with an explanation if necessary
D
if the identification is doubtful (in the opinion of the compiler)
C
if the material is possibly a contaminant (according to original author's suggestion)
T
if a different taxonomy has been used from the ABCD checklist, but there is no particular problem with the identification
L
if the naming level is thought to be too precise when compared with current practice
S
if there are several problems relating to this taxon, listed separately in PROBS
A
where alternative names have been given in the report; the broadest identification level in TAXLISTS is usually inserted
Q
if the quantification is not actual numbers of individuals
P
if species are indicated as spp. or sp(p)., i.e. more than one species may be present, although they have not or cannot be distinguished; nothing needs to be added to PROBS
X
taxon is not on the checklist; the correct taxonomy will have to be checked before adding it to the checklist and before the data are loaded
!
a note about the identification
Ev
where the quantification is an estimated figure, for example if part of the sample was counted and then multiplied up to get an estimate of the whole
Z
only vernacular names were used in the report; these have been converted to Latin names before adding to the DB, using what is thought to be the most appropriate name
Main dating methods (method in CONTEXTS)
art
artefacts
cmb
combination
coi
coin
c14
radiocarbon assay
nr
not recorded
pot
pottery
str
stratigraphy
Codes used for context type (tycode in CONTEXTS)
ACCU
accumulations (including build-ups, layers, and dumps not directly associated with buildings)
CONS
building construction layers, trench fills, and walls
FBUR
fills of burials/cremations/tombs
FDIT
fills of ditches, moats, drains and gullies
FFIL
feature fills (not specified further)
FLAT
fills of latrines and garderobes
FPIT
pit fills and other layers within pits
FPOS
post-hole fills
FWEL
well fills
GRAN
deposits associated with granaries
MISC
miscellaneous, including unstratified
NATS
natural/semi-natural deposits such as buried soils
OCCF
occupation deposits thought to be floors
OCCU
occupation layers associated with buildings
OVHE
fills of, or layers in, ovens, hearths and kilns

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Last updated: Wed 28 Aug 1998