The multi period site at Mucking was discovered as a result of aerial photographs showing cropmarks and soil marks. The earliest photographs to reveal the site were taken by the Luftwaffe in 1943. The importance of the site was recognised following photographs taken by Kenneth Joseph in 1959 (published in 1964). In 1982, Margaret Jones (site director at the Mucking excavation) noted that some sites were being interpreted on crop mark evidence alone. She pointed out that some features do not produce crop marks and that some crop marks, when excavated, turn out not to be what they seem.