One of several systems used to describe colours accurately. A Munsell chart contains a number of pages, each with many coloured chips glued to it. Colour is assessed by matching with these chips, and is described in standard terms. The colour of any material can in fact be described, but the system is most widely used in archaeology to describe soils, sediments and pottery fabrics. Colours described by this method can be instantly understood by others with access to a chart, even if they have never visited the excavation or seen the pottery.
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983Copied