Why do archeological sites always get deeper underground with time? If ground gets on top of them, it must have came from somewhere else. Why no locations seem to rise with time, rather than sink?
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The pyramids are very old archaeological sites and they stick up well above the ground, as do many castles and cathedrals.
But, if something old is sticking up and looks like useful building stone, people will nick it to build farm sheds and things, so what’s left is things that are already buried far enough they’re not worth the effort of digging up or things that are too big to shift.
Lots of archaeology is of things that were already below ground level, like graves, ditches and rubbish pits, wall foundations, or floor levels that were cut into a terrace.
Things at ground level very easily get buried, like if a wall falls over or just from dirt and grass and weeds building up. Have you ever noticed how weeds and grass grow in cracks between pavers, and how dirt and mud build up in corners, and how much effort people put into sweeping and hosing and cleaning their buildings? Even things that are above the original ground surface get covered by plant growth until they’re mysterious lumps and bumps in the ground.
If dirt is being eroded from an archaeological site, the archaeology often gets destroyed. Coastal cliffs get worn away by waves and storms and suddenly there’s bones from a 1200 year old cemetery sticking out over the beach, and then they get washed away too. Rivers change course a lot, they could bury an old ship then expose it again centuries later, and then the ship quickly rots away.
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