Page 300 - Green - Maritime Archaeology: A Technical Handbook. 2nd ed

Chapter 10: Recording 279
contents. An interesting system was used by Martin (1981) on the Trinidad Valencera where bags were attached to a recording frame.
A very serious problem arises, however, when tagging objects under water. In general, a set of numerical tags is made up on the surface and then taken to the site. Even in the case of a ship’s timbers, where the tags can be securely attached to the structure, it is almost inevitable that tags are lost or become detached from the object, so there is a constant problem in reconciling missing tags with objects. There is no simple solution to this, and unless the tagging operation is carefully controlled, it can end in chaos.
One way of dealing with the situation is to use plastic bags to hold each object while the excavator has a list of registration numbers, or a system of recording noted on a slate. On finding an object, a tag made of drawing film (preferably pre-printed with necessary information boxes) is selected and the relevant information put on the tag and on the recording slate. The tag is placed in the bag with the object and the bag sealed.
Alternatively, the tags can be made up on the surface, as has already been mentioned, with some method of attaching them to an artifact. Depending on the situation, the method of attachment may be nails, wire, or nylon string. Nylon fishing line is unsuitable because it is very difficult to tie securely. PVC plastic is one of the best tagging materials provided it is thick enough to prevent the attachment from pulling through the tag. A good way of holding the tags in numerical order without them falling into disarray is to pierce an additional hole in each tag. The tags can then be skewered on a large safety pin made out of coat-hanger wire. Each tag is then removed from the pin sequentially and attached to the artifact, and the number is noted on a record sheet together with a description of the object.
It is useful to note the object and its registration number on a sketch plan of the site, showing the location of the object (Figure 10.5). At the end of each tagging session, the tag numbers can be reconciled with the sketch plan to ensure that all the tags have been attached and that none are missing. From then, until the object is raised, it is important to ensure that the tag remains attached to the object; this needs to be checked at regular intervals. It is advisable to make one person responsible for tagging, other- wise there will be confusion due to duplicate registrations and missing tags. It is possible to use a temporary registration number for in situ registration; in this way, the final registration system will not have missing numbers caused by lost tags. The temporary number can then be held with the object until some point when it can be re-registered. The main drawback with this scheme is that every object will then have two numbers, thus doubling the chance of making a mistake.
Special consideration needs to be taken when recovering bulk objects or loose finds. Typically, an excavator can be faced with a grid square with a