This site uses cookies.
Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site,
while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used.
For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
French to English translations [PRO] Archaeology / Description of archaeological excavation technique
French term or phrase:démontage
Des fouilles minutieuses La fouille consiste à dégager soigneusement les vestiges archéologiques jusqu’à leur base, sans les déplacer, à l’aide de petits outils (truelles, spatules de dentiste et pinceaux). Pour ne pas piétiner les objets, les fouilleurs sont installés sur des planches surélevées. Cette opération vise à tenter de comprendre, à partir de la répartition des vestiges, l’organisation de l’habitat au moment où il a été abandonné par les hommes préhistoriques. Pour prélever les vestiges archéologiques et enregistrer leur position - opération dite de **démontage** -, la surface du sol est divisée en carrés d’un mètre de côté.
Is there actually a term in English? I'm tempted to leave it out.
Explanation: as Phil has said in Dbox this is about gridding the site (or dividing site into a grid) so that the position of any artifacts found can be positioned
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 9 hrs (2017-10-14 19:41:26 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
from the first link: "Once a site has been dug (or in the case of sites with no depth, the surface artifacts have been collected), it is gone forever and can never be replaced with another just like it. Because sites are destroyed during collection or excavation processes, archaeologists record them in detail to preserve the context of all the artifacts and structures. Archaeologists in the future can study an excavated site only if good notes and maps are made. One way archaeologists preserve context on paper is through the use of the rectangular grid, or Cartesian coordinate system. The first step in the excavation process is to establish a grid. A site datum is set at an arbitrarily chosen location and is designated as (0,0). Two perpendicular axes or lines intersecting at the site datum are then established and a rectangular grid is superimposed over the entire site. Each square on the ground is marked with numbered stakes in the corners, so that each square or grid unit has a unique “name” referred to by its coordinates. The coordinates indicate the distance of a given point north, south, east, or west from the site datum. Once the grid is established, all artifacts and structures are measured and recorded using the system. Before excavation actually begins, all artifacts visible on the surface are collected and their locations on the grid are recorded. As the excavation proceeds, materials found under the surface are similarly recorded and collected. When the archaeologist returns to the laboratory, the maps and the data recorded in the field can be used to make inferences about past events and the lifeways of the site’s inhabitants. If the exact location of each artifact transported back to the laboratory is known, then the object can be tied to its context within the site.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 day7 mins (2017-10-15 10:09:41 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
OK so "gridding" on its own doesn't give the complete picture but it's what is described as an essential step before removal and recording of the artifacts "Pour prélever les vestiges archéologiques et enregistrer leur position - opération dite de démontage-," So démontage in English as we all know means disassembly or dismantling taking place. But dismantling is really a form of destruction of the archaeological artifact (a large piece or building that must be taken apart to get it out of the ground, or if underwater such as a ship on the seabed) and I don't know if that is happening here or not but it doesn't seem to be as it only mentions "vestiges". So, really not sure about using just this one word. Perhaps "gridding & recovery" or "removal" might be best with explanation following as to the various steps? "gridding and subsequent uncovering/recovery/recording of artifacts".
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 day11 mins (2017-10-15 10:13:52 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
or another thought "excavation (process)"
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 day17 mins (2017-10-15 10:19:46 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Perhaps I should add that as far as this museum is concerned, the extracted artefacts on display are flint, bone and horn objects and plant fossils. Of course the reference in the guide to "démontage" may be intended as general information rather than applying specifically to this museum.
There you are then. It makes no sense to include a term that English-speaking archaeologists don't use, but "gridding" is a very important term and including it would be thoroughly justified, I think.
That's a good idea, Charles. As a matter of fact, I feel I have fairly free rein here as it's a visitor's guide to a well-known museum of prehistory, and the overall aim should surely be to inform and educate. I have time, so I can ask the client in due course.
That makes it a bit awkward. Perhaps leave it a bit longer, if you can, and see if anyone can solve it. Alternatively, if you can edit the hyperlink, you might consider following Phil's advice, recast the sentence, leaving out "démontage" altogether, and introduce "gridding", with a suitable hyperlinked definition; at least that way you keep the same number of hyperlinks. I don't know whether your client would be happy with that.
Thank you one and all for this discussion. The thing is, the term "démontage" is hyperlinked to a definition, so if, as you suggest Charles, English has no equivalent, I'll have to leave out the link.
I came to exactly the same conclusion when I considered this question yesterday: "dismantling" is occasionally used in this sense, but it usually implies literally disassembling archaeological remains in order to extract them piece by piece. "Excavation" is probably closest, but that, after all, will be used for "fouille" (the whole archaeological operation), so it will be confusing to use it for "démontage" as well. I don't think there is a satisfactory one-word translation for "démontage".
"dismantling" or "disassembling" the site would describe pretty well what they are doing at the stage of "démontage", but I don't think that these terms are used.
Gridding, called "carroyage" in French, is the necessarily preliminary step, but "démontage" comes afterwards and as the text explains it means extraction and recording (prélever et enregistrer). I don't think English has a single word for it.
Phil's suggestion is essentially to introduce a different term of art, in another part of the sentence, to compensate for the omission of this one.
The process of dividing up a site is called gridding. So you could say "the site is divided into squares in a process called gridding, so that the positions of finds can be documented." http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/intrigue/1005
Automatic update in 00:
Answers
43 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): -1
Conservation
Explanation: Conservation of archaeological sites is the process of professionally protecting an archaeological site from further demages.
Je suppose en fonction de la phrase qui vient après "démontage" Un carroyage sert à quadriller la surface du site archéologique à l'aide de cordes et de piquets dans le but de créer des carrés d'égale longueur. Selon le site, les carrés peuvent faire par exemple un mètre sur un mètre ou encore cinq mètres sur cinq mètres, tout dépend du type de fouille et du type de terrain. http://www.histoire-archeologie.com
Messaoudi N. Local time: 16:27 Native speaker of: Arabic, French
Explanation: as Phil has said in Dbox this is about gridding the site (or dividing site into a grid) so that the position of any artifacts found can be positioned
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 9 hrs (2017-10-14 19:41:26 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
from the first link: "Once a site has been dug (or in the case of sites with no depth, the surface artifacts have been collected), it is gone forever and can never be replaced with another just like it. Because sites are destroyed during collection or excavation processes, archaeologists record them in detail to preserve the context of all the artifacts and structures. Archaeologists in the future can study an excavated site only if good notes and maps are made. One way archaeologists preserve context on paper is through the use of the rectangular grid, or Cartesian coordinate system. The first step in the excavation process is to establish a grid. A site datum is set at an arbitrarily chosen location and is designated as (0,0). Two perpendicular axes or lines intersecting at the site datum are then established and a rectangular grid is superimposed over the entire site. Each square on the ground is marked with numbered stakes in the corners, so that each square or grid unit has a unique “name” referred to by its coordinates. The coordinates indicate the distance of a given point north, south, east, or west from the site datum. Once the grid is established, all artifacts and structures are measured and recorded using the system. Before excavation actually begins, all artifacts visible on the surface are collected and their locations on the grid are recorded. As the excavation proceeds, materials found under the surface are similarly recorded and collected. When the archaeologist returns to the laboratory, the maps and the data recorded in the field can be used to make inferences about past events and the lifeways of the site’s inhabitants. If the exact location of each artifact transported back to the laboratory is known, then the object can be tied to its context within the site.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 day7 mins (2017-10-15 10:09:41 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
OK so "gridding" on its own doesn't give the complete picture but it's what is described as an essential step before removal and recording of the artifacts "Pour prélever les vestiges archéologiques et enregistrer leur position - opération dite de démontage-," So démontage in English as we all know means disassembly or dismantling taking place. But dismantling is really a form of destruction of the archaeological artifact (a large piece or building that must be taken apart to get it out of the ground, or if underwater such as a ship on the seabed) and I don't know if that is happening here or not but it doesn't seem to be as it only mentions "vestiges". So, really not sure about using just this one word. Perhaps "gridding & recovery" or "removal" might be best with explanation following as to the various steps? "gridding and subsequent uncovering/recovery/recording of artifacts".
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 day11 mins (2017-10-15 10:13:52 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
or another thought "excavation (process)"
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 day17 mins (2017-10-15 10:19:46 GMT) --------------------------------------------------