Excavation

The method of archaeological explorations that help the

archaeologists to find out the material remains from the
surface. Based on the field surveys, they will proceed with
the trial pits in order to understand the potential of the site.
Consequently, the archaeologist will start extensive
excavation in that area. Excavation is the most systematic and
scientific method to retrieve the buried object of the past
societies. The excavations are mainly yielding the evidences
of two main information on the human past societies; a)
human activities at a particular period in the past and b)
changes in those activities from period to period. Broadly, we
can say that contemporary activities take place horizontally in
space; whereas the changes in those activities occur vertically
through time. It means in an archaeological excavation pit the
horizontal space always represent the contemporary period
and the material evidences collected from the horizontal
spaces belongs to a particular period. However, after the
excavation when we observe all these horizontal evidences
vertically we can see the changes occurred in different period.

The archaeological mounds are the locations that show

significant traces of human activity, essentially where
artifacts, features and eco-facts are found together. It is a site
where the continuous human occupations occurred in the
past. Two methods are using for the excavation of an
archaeological site or mount; vertical and horizontal digging.
Vertical Excavation:

Vertical excavation reveals the total stratigraphy of the site.

The sediment layers cut perpendicularly and removed the
soil in reverse order. Therefore, vertical digging discloses the
entire cultural deposit of a site. Vertical excavation often
starts from the present surface, which is known as surface
humus layer, and ends at the natural layer, a sediment layer
without human interaction.

Horizontal excavation:

If the vertical digging exposed the cultural deposits of the

past up and down, the horizontal excavation aims to expose
the deposits horizontally. It reveals the extension of the site
while presenting a stratigraphic record in the baulk left
between pits. Mortimer Wheeler is one of the chief
opponents of this excavation by using grid method.

Open-Area excavation:

This type of excavation aims to expose a large area of the

archaeological site without maintaining baulk. Philip Barker
is the chief advocate of this method. This may help the
archaeologist to realize the total cultural deposit of a site.

Grid excavation:

Mortimer wheeler has developed the grid system, which is

also known as Box-Grid System, of excavation to obtain
information both horizontally and vertically. He developed
the grid system of systematic digging whereby the field was
divided into small squares. Each square clearly separated by
a narrow baulk that was never excavated. This method
permitted an area to be excavated yet preserved a vertical
cross-section that revealed the strata of the site as the trench
was dug. Wheeler's box-grid system has been used
universally in modern archaeology and although less popular
in Europe it is still the most simple method to ensure a
systematic approach.

Quartering:

This is an excavation technique involving cutting

archaeological sites in to four quadrants to obtain maximum
vertical and horizontal information. It is generally applied to
the excavation of small mounds.

Excavation of burials or Quadrant Method:

Burial excavation leads us to understand various aspects of

the human life in the past centuries include ritual practices,
believes, ancestral belief and belief on life after death. The
skeletal remains helps to identify the racial affinities, family
groups, age, sex, nutrition, palaeodemography, palaeo-
diseases and other cultural information. Megaliths are the
most important burials of Kerala and South India that have
archaeological importance. There are different types of
megalithic burials like Umbrella stone, Cap stone, cist,
dolmen, rock-cut sepulchers, stone circle, urns, sarcophagus
etc. Quadrant method of is normally used for the burial
excavation. Quadrant method involves dividing the mound
or burial into four segments and each quadrant removed very
systematically. After removing the soil of one quadrant, the
archaeologist tries to understand the actual position of the
burial and then proceed with the removal of remaining three
quadrants. Even depth must be maintained in the entire
quadrant. For instance, if one tries to excavate an urn burial
he/she has to remove the four quadrants until the capstone is
identified and then proceed with removal of one or two
quadrant simultaneously. Once the burial is exposed the
entire burial goods have to be documented on site. The
documentation includes drawing or illustration, photographs,
mapping etc. The samples, especially bones or fossils,
charcoal, pottery etc have to be scientifically collected. After
the completion all documentation the burial goods will send
to the museum.

Trench excavation:

Trench is used to refer to small or sample excavation as

opposed to open area excavation. Even a large area excavation
is only a sample of archaeological landscape and so is really a
large trench. Trial trenches or trial pits or sondages are also
the sampling excavation of the sites. They are often small
square trenches (1m x 1m) in order to recognize the
archaeological potentials of the site.

Sieving:

Sieving is the most important part of excavations. This

method, also known as screening or sifting, used to recover
quantifiable data from excavations. The cultural materials
meticulously recover through sieving and record its context
properly. Prior to the New Archaeology of the 1960s, sieving
was not widely practiced and usually was restricted to the use
of coarse mesh sieves for the recovery of small artifacts such
as coins and beads. However, presently the archaeologists
collect and document all artifacts, whether it is small or big,
from the archaeological sites.

Stripping:

Stripping is not often advisable in archaeological excavation.

 It involves the removal of top soil accumulations. It is
often carried out after a series of excavations that had taken
place in various parts of the site. The removal, as efficiently
as possible, of all above the surface those considered
archaeologically not significant. For instance, in an urban
context, this may involves removing the remains of recently
demolished concrete building. This method is employed in
contract archaeological work when the time factor is short.

Stratigraphy:

Stratigraphy is the analysis and interpretation of depositional

layers or strata in excavated area.  In archaeology,
stratigraphy involves a careful consideration of the
characteristics of individual soil layers in order to understand
how these layers relate to one another.  As we learned in the
previous chapter, there are geological strata and
archaeological strata. The relation between the top most
humus layer and natural layer in archaeological site explains
the continuity or rupture, and changes occurred in the site
during the past. Edward Harris strongly advocates that
archaeological stratigraphy differ from geological
stratigraphy.  There are certain basic laws and notions that
are followed in identifying the archaeological stratigraphy.
They are Law of Superimposition, Original Horizontality,
Original Continuity and Stratigraphical Succession. The Law
of Superposition is of first importance in the interpretation of
the stratification. It assumes that the strata and features are
found in a position similar to that of their original
deposition. “In a series of layers and interfacial features, as
originally created, the upper units of stratification are
younger and the lower are older, for each must have been
deposited on, or created by the removal of, a pre-existing
mass of archaeological stratification” The Law of
Superposition is a statement about the depositional order
between any two strata. Since it only relates to any two units
of stratification, it can make no declaration about the detailed
position of strata in the stratigraphic sequence of a site. The
law is simply a statement about the physical relationships of
superimposed deposits, i.e. one lies on top of or underneath
another, and is therefore later or earlier. By recording super
positional relationships, the archaeologist amasses a body of
data, which will be of assistance in determining the
stratigraphic sequence of the site.

Mapping of sites:
Map is one of the important tools in archaeological
exploration and excavation. It includes topographic map, site
map, aerial map, contour map etc. Topographic map depicts
the topographical data in combination with representation of
archaeological features. Topographic map helps an
archaeologist to observe the landforms through which he/she
may able to locate an archaeological mound before and
during the exploration and excavation. The contour map
represents the elevation or undulation of the landscape. 
The Satellite maps, Google earth maps etc are also widely
using nowadays to locate and document the archaeological
site.