A conference in Florence celebrated a groundbreaking archaeological method earlier this week.

The event, Matrix 1973-2023, took place on October 30 and marked 50 years of the Harris Matrix.

The tool, invented by Bermudian archaeologist Edward Harris, measures the depths of deposits, length and width of a surface area, as well as a relative time sequence on an archaeological site.

Dr Harris knew the method would greatly impact archaeology but said it took about five years to perfect.

He explained: “Originally, the matrix had the old computer adage of garbage in, garbage out.

“Fortunately, we were able to overcome those hurdles and it lasted us for 50 years.”

Italian and Austrian archaeologists, as well as students from the Centre of Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies, where the conference was held, addressed some of these impacts and how the matrix was still used today.

Frederico Cantini, director of the Specialisation School of Archaeology at the University of Pisa, said the method helped the field move “from antiquarian research and become history”.

He added: “Adopting the Harris Matrix represented a Darwinian ‘advantageous mutation’, that allowed us to investigate complex sites, having a perfect tool not only for the management of large masses of data, but also for their interpretation.

“The archaeological excavations of the University of Pisa are, today, an opportunity to use Dr Harris's teaching and pass it on to the archaeologists of the future.”

Wolfgang Neubauer, the director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology in Austria, discussed new Harris-Matrix software at the conference.

Dr Neubauer, Dr Harris’s colleague since 1999, said this programme was key to forming a universal procedure for excavation and “complete digital documentation of all deposits and surfaces”.

Elena Strong, the executive director of the National Museum of Bermuda, which Dr Harris led for 37 years, said: “After 50 years, the Harris Matrix shows no sign of diminishing in its value, and we are certain that it will continue to have an enduring impact on the field of archaeology.

“We should all be proud of our fellow Bermudian, whose scientific work significantly affected archaeological practices worldwide for over half a century.”

• Visit harrismatrix.com to learn more about the method and read Dr Harris’s 1979 book, The Principles of Archaeological Stratigraphy