Editing Harris matrix (section)

==Harris' laws of archaeological stratigraphy==
The first four laws were published in 1979.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Harris |first=Edward C. |date=June 1979 |title=The laws of archaeological stratigraphy |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00438243.1979.9979753 |journal=World Archaeology |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=111–117 |doi=10.1080/00438243.1979.9979753 |issn=0043-8243|url-access=subscription }}</ref> A fifth law has been added following papers presented at the "Interpreting Stratigraphy: a Review of the Art" conferences in the UK from 1992 to 2003.[[File:Brucesmatrix.png|thumb|Large Harris matrix of an urban sequence]]

===Law of superposition===
{{Main|Law of superposition}}
In a series of layers and interfacial features, as originally created, the upper units of [[Stratification (archeology)|stratification]] are younger and the lower are older, for each must have been deposited on, or created by the removal of, a pre-existing mass of archaeological stratification.

===Law of original horizontality===
{{Main|Principle of original horizontality}}
Any archaeological layer deposited in an unconsolidated form will tend towards a horizontal disposition. Strata which are found with tilted surfaces were so originally deposited, or lie in conformity with the contours of a pre-existing basin of deposition.

===Law of original continuity===
Any archaeological deposit, as originally laid down, will be bounded by the edge of the basin of deposition, or will thin down to a feather edge. Therefore, if any edge of the deposit is exposed in a vertical plane view, a part of its original extent must have been removed by [[Excavation (archaeology)|excavation]] or [[erosion]]: its continuity must be sought, or its absence explained.

===Law of stratigraphic succession===
Any given unit of archaeological [[Stratification (archeology)|stratification]] takes its place in the stratigraphic sequence of a site from its position between the undermost of all units which lie above it and the uppermost of all those units which lie below it and with which it has a physical contact, all other [[Law of superposition|superpositional]] relationships being regarded as redundant.

===Law of original consolidation===
This law makes the distinction between architectural stratigraphy and all other types in regard to three criteria:<ref name=Harvey>{{cite thesis |last= Harvey |first= Heather Maureen |title= Imaging and Imagining the Past: The use of Illustrations in the Interpretation of Structural Development at the King's Castle, Castle Island, Bermuda |year= 1997 |page= 20 |publisher=[[College of William & Mary]] - Arts & Sciences |location= Williamsburg, VA |series= Dissertations, Thesis, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539626091 |doi= 10.21220/s2-vexh-fs48 |doi-broken-date= 1 November 2024 |url= https://scholarworks.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5540&context=etd |access-date= 23 February 2022}} (also at [https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539626091 scholarworks.wm.edu].)</ref>
#When intact, architectural stratigraphy is of consolidated nature, as opposed to the loose or scattered below-ground remains. Erosion causes parts of buildings to become part of soil stratigraphy.<ref name=Harvey/>
#Architectural stratigraphy is characterised by human intentionality, which is only seldom the case with below-ground strata.<ref name=Harvey/>
#Gravity: architectural stratigraphy left ''in situ'' is ''pulled down'' by gravity, in combination with human or natural intervention, while below-ground stratigraphy is ''created'' by gravity. As a result, architectural stratigraphy scatters with time, the oldest parts being those which resisted the effect of time.<ref name=Harvey/>