There are three basic levels of direct investigation, which are used at separate stages of the process of site investigation: Test pits and trial trenches: Minimal investigation as part of a pre-planning site assessment Recording action: Larger scale, open area excavations carried out prior to commencement of development to record deposits likely to be damaged or destroyed Watching brief: On sites containing minor archaeological deposits the developers groundworks are observed and any deposits are quickly recorded

Test Pits and Trial Trenches:

Test pits and trial trenches are excavated as part of the pre-planning assessment of proposed development sites to produce information on the nature, the state of preservation and the depth of burial of the archaeological deposits. The results are central to informing planning decisions and the determination of mitigation strategies. Test pits of up to 2mē may be deliberately excavated to examine the archaeological deposits, although

sometimes this may be achieved by watching the excavation of geo-technical test pits excavated on behalf of the developer to determine the nature of the underlying ground and geology. More often, a series of trial trenches from 1.5 - 2.5m wide and anything between 10 and 50m long are excavated to determine the presence or nature of the archaeological remains. If other information such as aerial photographs or geophysical surveys are available, the trial trenches will usually be sited to both intersect known features and to examine apparently blank areas, where there might be small features that have now shown up on other surveys. Recording Actions:

Area excavations are usually carried out as part of a mitigation strategy prior to development commencing. If an identified area of archaeological features is considered to be of local or regional importance, but not of sufficient importance to warrant preservation, then it may be fully excavated in an area excavation. These could be as small as a few square metres on an urban site or up to several hectares on a large rural site.

Watching Briefs: When existing information or fieldwork has identified the presence of only sparse or damaged archaeological deposits, a watching brief will be arranged to monitor the developer's groundworks so that any exposed remains can be seen and briefly recorded, but without causing any delay to the redevelopment. This may entail as little as a single site visit to observe the digging of the construction trenches for a house. Or it could involve a continuous presence on site for weeks to monitor the soil stripping along a road corridor or other major development. Most quarries require intermittant monitoring as new areas are opened up for extraction. Watching briefs may also have a contingency plan, so that if something completely unexpected was to appear there could be provision to carry out a more detailed investigation.