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History vocabulary · Archaeology Basics

Excavation

Meaning in history, with examples

/ˌekskəˈveɪʃn/nounCore term

In history, excavation means: The careful digging and recording of an archaeological site to uncover buildings, objects and other remains in the order in which they were buried.

In Turkish: kazı, arkeolojik kazı

How it is used

Excavations are carried out, directed, funded and published, and archaeologists work in a trench. Digging destroys the layers as it goes, so detailed recording is essential. The verb is excavate, and the informal word is dig: on a dig.

Example sentences

  1. Excavations at Troy began in the early 1870s under Heinrich Schliemann.

  2. The excavation team works on the mound for eight weeks every summer.

Common collocations

  • carry out an excavation
  • rescue excavation
  • excavation season
  • excavation team
  • excavation report
  • archaeologyThe study of the human past through the material remains people left behind, such as buildings, tools, pottery, bones and traces in the soil.
  • archaeological siteA place where evidence of past human activity has been found or preserved, such as the remains of a settlement, cemetery, temple or workshop.
  • stratigraphyThe study of the layers of soil and debris at a site, based on the principle that lower layers were usually laid down before the ones above them.
  • artifactAn object made or shaped by people, such as a tool, coin, weapon or piece of jewellery, especially one studied for what it reveals about the past.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Archaeology Basics

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