A geoarchaeological and pedoarchaeological approach to compaction disturbance is necessary for successful archaeological interpretation of potentially compacted deposits. When surface ruts from vehicle activity occur above archaeological deposits, there is a potential for impact to the archaeological record to occur. While impacts to the soil surface are relatively straightforward to describe, sub‐surface disturbances are more difficult to quantify. Compaction disturbances to buried archaeological deposits can impact the superposition of artefacts, buried soil horizons, and stratigraphy across space, and make interpretation difficult or impossible. Deposits can be damaged by both movement through surface disturbances, and by translocation from compaction events. It is important to consider and take both impact types into account. Here, we present a geotechnical compaction model that can be used to assist with sub‐surface characterization under vehicle ruts formed during off‐road travel. The model is based on a Boussinesq analysis of stress increase below a surface load. The change in bulk density resulting from compaction is assumed to be proportional to the stress increase. The model results were compared against pilot‐scale tests conducted with homogeneous sediment and field‐scale in situ tests. The results indicate that the model generally agreed with measurements to within 20%, although only a single soil type was evaluated in these studies, with a narrow range of initial bulk densities and rut depths. While application of the model across a broader matrix of soil types, bulk densities and rut depths would increase confidence in the model, it appears that the model may be suitable for use in archaeological field investigations. Potential uses include both compliance and research‐based field applications.

中文翻译：

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评估泥沙变形的岩土压实模型的评估

为了成功地对可能被压实的沉积物进行考古解释，必须采取地质考古学和人文考古学方法来应对压实扰动。当车辆活动引起的表面车辙发生在考古沉积物上方时，就有可能对考古记录产生影响。虽然对土壤表面的影响相对容易描述，但地下干扰更难以量化。对埋藏的考古沉积物的压实扰动会影响人工制品，埋藏的土壤层位以及整个空间的地层学的叠加，并使解释困难或不可能。沉积物可能由于表面扰动而移动，也可能由于压实事件而移位。重要的是要考虑并考虑两种影响类型。这里，我们提出了一种岩土压实模型，该模型可用于辅助在越野行驶过程中形成的车辆车辙下的地下特征。该模型基于Boussinesq对低于表面载荷的应力增加的分析。假定由压实引起的堆积密度变化与应力增加成正比。将模型结果与均质沉积物和田间规模进行的中试测试进行了比较原位测试。结果表明，尽管在这些研究中仅评估了一种土壤类型，但初始体积密度和车辙深度范围较窄，该模型通常与20％的测量值吻合。尽管将模型应用于更广泛的土壤类型，体积密度和车辙深度的矩阵会增加模型的可信度，但似乎该模型可能适用于考古现场调查。潜在用途包括合规性和基于研究的现场应用程序。