Through an examination of the processes and influences on the character of grey literature and its producers, this thesis explores the nature of archaeological investigation, how it is reported and the creation of archaeological data in England from 1990 to 2010 and the implications for future understanding of the English archaeological record. I intend to address broad research questions regarding grey literature and archaeology: What is grey literature? Who creates it and why? What is it meant for? Is it fit-for-purpose? My research objectives in studying grey literature reporting and archaeological fieldwork investigation in England are: •To explore the nature of archaeological grey literature reporting and its producers, the framework of its production and communication, and its impact on archaeological research and knowledge production; •To capture the developments and changes in English archaeological practice between 1990 and 2010 and their implications for the creation and understanding of the archaeological record; and •To consider potential future directions for archaeological fieldwork and reporting. I propose to achieve this using a combination of both quantitative and qualitative approaches including spatial analysis techniques, comparative analysis at a range of scales from England-wide to individual case study areas, and detailed analysis of the nature and actual content of grey literature reports alongside a characterisation of the many creators of grey literature reporting. This study will illustrate and explore the process of producing grey literature reporting as well as examining the end product itself - grey literature reports. This European Research Council funded DPhil research was undertaken within the context of the English Landscapes and Identities Project, which analyses change and continuity in the English Landscape from the middle Bronze Age (c.1500 BC) to the Domesday survey (c. AD 1086).

Doctorat en philosophie et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished