The first was to develop a more flexible and open approach to stratigraphic excavation. This has involved encouraging interpretation “at the trowel’s edge.” The moment of excavation is surrounded in discussion between the excavator and a wide range of specialists. The different specialists process material from the trench quickly so that they can feed information back to the excavator.The excavators are also asked to keep video records and to make diary entries about their interpretations as they dig, and all the data are made available on an interactive database