Excavation is digging of the ground and removing the soil and other debris to systematically expose the surface of an archaeological site. The most common exaction type is the research exaction where researchers and academicians excavate a site at a gradual pace. Other excavation types include development-led excavation and rescue excavation.
Archaeological sites are normally buried in the soil and hence excavation becomes very necessary to uncover them. Exceptions such as the Pyramids in Egypt are there, however, these too need some cleaning. Hence pre-excavation procedures such as surveying need to be carried out properly so that researchers do no miss out an important site. Some researchers take clue from scriptures and literary mentions to identify a site for excavation. The archaeological findings of the city of Troy and Mycenae are excellent examples of this usage of literary mentions.
Excavation is a very important step of archaeological science considering the fact that a wrongly excavated site is almost damaged. Hence excavation has to be carried out cautiously ensuring that no artifact is damaged during the excavation process. Before the excavation begins, the survey findings, historic maps and aerial photographs are analyzed and a complete plan for exaction is chalked out.
The amount of effort required for excavation depends on the site. Sometimes only one person is engaged in the excavation and at times even a team of 100 falls short. The duration of excavation also greatly depends on the site. Some excavations last for years. The excavation activity can be speeded up by employing more people; however, in many cases the process needs to be carried out slowly to avoid any damage to the site.
Archaeological excavation involves usage of different tools. These tools can be very small is size like brushes or even large in size like backhoes. Normally the upper mud layer is removed with the help of mechanical equipments such as JCBs. This is followed by careful cleaning of the site with handheld tools. Every step is the excavation process is carefully photographed and all the photographs are properly labeled.
The depth of excavation reveals information about the cultures and civilizations that lived at the place. A few centimeters of excavation will give information about the people living in the 17th or 18th century. Digging further deeper will give information about the people living thousands of years ago. Thus progressive excavation leads to rebuilding a cultural history of a place.