such sites had been identified by 1992. Because the Quarantine Station has experienced over 150 years of quarantine activity, there is a layering of evidence on and in the ground that reflects the slow growth of the Station, the major development and redevelopment programs, and the subsequent removals and constructions. This evidence exists as independent evidence, though it is also complementary to the documentary evidence, and in large part cannot be interpreted without reference to the latter. Because the land-use over this period has been solely devoted to quarantine, the evidence is, on the whole, only impacted by later quarantine activity, so the understanding of both the creation and the destruction of the former buildings and landscape elements contributes to the story of quarantine. Because in many cases current building a relocated on the same sites as earlier building, and as many of the surviving buildings have a long history of their own, all sub-floor deposits are considered to have archaeological potential. The changes over time reflected by the surviving buildings and features and the archaeological sites reflect various aspects of the history of quarantine, public health and society as a whole. The stories able to be illuminated by the physical evidence include, among many others: the Aboriginal occupation of North Head; the changing attitudes to quarantine and its administration; the developing medical and epidemiological knowledge; the development of Australia's immigration policies, and the experience of individuals and groups within that history; the changing attitudes to class and race; the iconography used by inmates to memorialise their experience, in the 1,000 plus inscriptions, memorials and gravestones, and Australia's experience of war, both in the diseases contracted by the military personnel buried in the Quarantine Station cemeteries, and in the direct defence of Sydney. An unusual aspect of the collection of historical archaeological evidence at the Quarantine Station is that it all contributes to the understanding of this one theme of quarantine as well as to associated broader themes, and a large amount of evidence appears to have survived. This vests the archaeological sites with a very high research potential for ongoing study of this important aspect of Australian history. In addition to the archaeological potential of buildings which have been demolished, the Quarantine Station buildings also offer the opportunity to research the archaeology of standing structures. As a tightly dated and well-documented group of buildings they have potential to provide