The organization of excavation activities: Archaeological teams n.1 & n.2.

There are several particular elements of interest in this case study. The archaeological teams involved were in charge of the fundamental ring within the archaeological chain: archaeological excavation. The case reflects China’s archaeological peculiarity in comparison to the Western world (and maybe the rest of the world), either in terms of opportunities (urban/building development and related findings), administrative rules (Luoyang model and salvage excavation), archaeological techniques (detection/excavation) and, last but not least, the high profitability of archaeological excavation. It provides significant evidence of the Luoyang specificity within China (co-existence of two archaeological teams, development of the Luoyang Model, developing of professional knowledge at local levels, strong support from the national government). It provides an example of inter-organizational complexity related to the co-existence of several institutions contemporarily in charge of excavation, preservation and research of cultural relics and to the existence of an economical/prestige disincentive for cooperation among institutions. The structure of the chapter is as follows: 1. a preliminary short reconstruction of the birth of the two Luoyang archaeological teams; 2. a reconstruction of the archaeological teams’ main functions and procedures (excavation, preservation and research); 3. aspects related to the archaeological teams efficiency, investigating both procedural and substantial issues in managing human & financial resources; 4. final conclusions and implications.