Frontmatter
Entry categories
In order to assist with the usage of the entries in this dictionary, all the terms have been classified into a series of main groupings. These are indicated by abbreviations in square brackets set immediately after the word or term and before the definition. The following categories have been used:
| [Ab] | Abbreviation |
| [Ar] | Artefact |
| [Bi] | Biographical entry |
| [Co] | Component or feature of a recognized class of monument |
| [CP] | Cultural phase, period, tradition, or defined grouping |
| [De] | Descriptive term |
| [Di] | Deity |
| [Do] | Document (usually a historical text relevant to archaeological enquiry) |
| [Eq] | Equipment used in archaeological work |
| [Ge] | General term |
| [Le] | Legal term |
| [Ma] | Material |
| [MC] | Monument class or category |
| [Na] | Name of historical or mythical person |
| [Or] | Organization, association, society, institution, or company |
| [Sp] | Plant or animal species/genus |
| [Si] | Site, monument, or area of archaeological importance |
| [Sl] | Slang |
| [Te] | Technique commonly used in archaeological work |
| [Th] | Theoretical perspective, model, or set of principles underpinning archaeological work |
Abbreviations
| Abio. | Autobiography |
| AD | anno Domini |
| BC | Before Christ (expressed in conventional calendar/solar years) |
| Bio. | Biography |
| c. | circa |
| CoE | Council of Europe |
| CUP | Cambridge University Press |
| d. | died |
| EC | European Commission |
| EU | European Union |
| HMSO | Her Majesty's Stationery Office |
| Not. | Biographical note/review |
| Obit. | Obituary |
| OUP | Oxford University Press |
| pl. | plural |
| RAF | Royal Air Force |
| RCHME | Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England |
| Rep. | Report on a major excavationor survey of the site/region |
| Rev. | Review |
| Sum. | Summary |
| TV | Television |
| UK | United Kingdom |
| USA | United States of America |
| WW1 | World War 1 |
| WW2 | World War 2 |
