Clarke resists correcting an old naval analysis merely because later archaeology showed that the enemy had not been where officers believed. The contemporary account records the information and interpretation available to the institution at the time. Decisions made during the next twenty years could rest on that mistaken picture, giving the error real historical consequences. The later correction creates a fork between what happened and what decision-makers thought had happened. Bennett therefore treats false leads as important evidence for historical change rather than blemishes to be silently removed from the record.
Notable Point · 1:18:21-1:19:27
Why a contemporary error can remain valuable evidence
Later archaeology may overturn a battle summary's factual reconstruction without erasing its value as evidence for decisions made from the original belief.