ABSTRACT
Plans, particularly site plans, are an essential part of the archaeological record and come in many different formats and qualities. It should always be remembered that it is easy to produce a high-quality plan based on a low-quality survey, so it is important to indicate on the plan the level of the accuracy of the survey. The situation when the first edition of this handbook was written is quite different from today. The availability of graphic packages and computer programs which assist in the surveying of sites has radically altered the potential for producing high-quality plans. Indeed, currently it is quite easy to produce three-dimensional plans of sites and it is anticipated that the development of the geographical information systems will make the ability to integrate survey, remote sensing, predisturbance, and excavation work commonplace, with enormous potential to link text-based data with the graphic three-dimensional reality.
