The Harris matrix is a tool used to depict the temporal succession of archaeological context

Archaeological context

In archaeology, not only the context of a discovery is a significant fact, but the formation of the context is as well. An archaeological context is an event in time which has been preserved in the archaeological record. The cutting of a pit or ditch in the past is a context, whilst the material...

s and thus the sequence of deposition on a 'dry land' archaeological site. The matrix reflects the relative position and stratigraphic contacts of observable stratigraphic units, or contexts. The Matrix was developed in 1974 in Winchester, England, by Dr. Edward C. Harris.
However the concept of creating seriation

Seriation

Seriation is a way of situating an object within a series:*Seriation *Seriation...

 diagrams of archaeological strata based on the physical relationship between strata had had some currency in Winchester and other urban centres in England prior to Harris's formalisation.