In using evidence (in history, as in these other spheres)
THREE STAGEs have to be considered.
• First, to examine the relic and be quite sure that it is what
it seems to be – not what it was (that comes later), but
what it is now.
• Second, to attempt to trace its history – how it came here,
what changes t has undergone, by what means… This
stage is often a matter of tracing processes backwards.