Archaeology is the Study of Trash

Tedious as it may appear to some to dwell on the discovery of odds and ends that have, no doubt, been thrown away by the owner as rubbish ... yet it is by the study of such trivial details that Archaeology is mainly dependent for determining the date of earthworks. ... Next to coins fragments of pottery afford the most reliable of all evidence ... In my judgement, a fragment of pottery, if it throws light on the history of our own country and people, is of more interest to the scientific collector of evidence in England, than even a work of art and merit that is associated only with races that we are remotely connected with.

Augustus Henry Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers, Excavations in Cranborne Chase, Near Rushmore, on the Borders of Dorset and Wilts: Excavations in Bokerly and Wansdyke, Dorset and Wilts ... with observations on the human remains by J.G. Garson, M.D. 1892 (1892)

• archaeology