Large-scale excavations in Europe

During the last decades, the number of large-scale excavations has increased significantly. Such excavations have become an important element of archaeological cultural heritage management. This kind of large-area fieldwork off ers not only new data, finds and additional archaeological sites, but also gives new insights into the interpretation of archaeological landscapes as a whole. Our view of the results of older excavations and our ideas on settlement structures and land use in the past has changed dramatically as a result. New patterns concerning human "off site activities", e.g. field systems, or types of sites which were previously underrepresented, can only be detected by large-scale excavations. Linear projects especially, such as pipelines and motorways, offer the possibility to extrapolate and propose models of land use and environment on the regional and macro-regional scale. These papers consisting of case studies and broader methodological and theoretical work offer a detailed picture of all of these ways in which how large-scale excavation is contributing to archaeological research, and point out future directions, challenges and oppurtunities. 6 papers in English, 3 in German, 3 in French.