Why are so many archeological discoveries found buried under ground? I just read a post about obstacles with expanding the subways in Rome due to finding ruins, and I understand finds buried like Pompeii. How do these sites get covered over so deeply?
In: Earth Science
If an area sediments at the rate of 1/8th of an inch per year (from dust and wind blown sand, soil, fallen leaves forming mulch, etc.), after a century, it’s buried under a foot of new soil. After a thousand years, it’s 10 feet deep. Rome was founded more than 2.5 centuries ago and there were settlements in the area that predated the founding of Rome itself. And some parts of the world will sediment at far higher rates, at least from time to time.
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