Why do archeologists have to *dig* for artifacts?

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Why do archeologists have to dig into the soil/sediment to find artifacts and archeological sites? Why are older things always deeper in the ground? Why would they not be found on the same level? Can dirt and debris pile up that bad?

In: Geology

6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Weeds come up through pavement, catching dirt and plant debris, other plants send out roots and grow in the soil over the paving. It doesn’t take that many years for the walk to disappear under vegetation and soil. More in places with falling leaves or floods or forests. Multiply that by hundreds or thousands of years, and it all gets very deep.

I didn’t really understand this until I had a house and garden to tend, just how fast it all builds up. Digging up to prepare beds I found a horseshoe, a toy Storm Trooper, marbles, broken china and beads, and a half dozen spoons.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Take a plate and put it on the ground. Over time bird droppings, dust and leaves will accumulate on it. The same is happening on the surrounding ground. Let’s say it builds up at 1 mm per year. After 1,000 years it will be a metre underground.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Another factor that people haven’t mentioned is that all the stuff that was hanging around aboveground and easily accessible was probably picked up and moved around by people.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Yes dust from decaying leaves, volcanic ash etc. builds up very quickly when you are talking hundreds of years and the deeper you go down the older it is (in general)

Anonymous 0 Comments

Consider that surface or shallow artifacts are easier to locate and thus have already been found.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Things lay on the ground or crumble. Over time they sink or are buried by the natural build up of sediment.

Think of something you own or have dropped, especially something metal, sturdy, and heavy. A few years later you find it half buried. Or maybe you find it with a metal detector and say “I was wondering what happened to this lock!” Or “I knew i left this shovel out”