Inverting Physics - a Future for the Past?

Archaeological finds include remainders of collapsed buildings. Interpreting these finds requires a deeper understanding of the underlying physics. Though physics simulations can help with this process, they are by default irreversible and thus serve more demonstration than explanation purposes. In this article, we examine a method to statistically "revert" the physical processes to help reasoning over potential causes and layouts. This is a work in progress paper describing in particular the general principles and trying to apply them in the specific case of a shell midden.