| Abstract: |
Provides the necessary minimum of technical knowledge about modern farm machinery to allow assessment of plough damage on any specific site, and to enable archaeologists to approach farmers at the farmers' level of interest. As many as six variables need to be considered - soil type and bedrock, topography (especially slope), equipment type and usage, depth of work, type and condition of archaeological remains, and previous cultivations. Action and depth of work are described for the mouldboard plough subsoiler and panbuster, chisel plough, tines, discs, direct drilling and forestry plough. See also G B Triplett and D M Van Doren, Agriculture without tillage, in Sci Amer, 236(1), Jan 1977, 28-33. |
