The plans and sections printed with this article are the tools of professional archaeologists. We have attempted to use them to give the reader a three-dimensional picture of a site.
A plan is a picture which shows what is seen when looking straight down at the site. The limitation of a plan is that it cannot show depth: thus the height of two walls cannot be compared.
The function of a section drawing is to show the vertical relationship of the structures excavated at a site. A section drawing takes a vertical slice through an area. This slice may be taken through any two points on the plan at any angle. This means there are an infinite number of possible section drawings. That is why it is important to indicate on the plan where the slice or section was made.
On our plans of Hazor and Gezer the points marked A-A on the plan show the position of the section. The slice is taken from one A to the other A.