How Does an Archaeological Excavating Service Operate?

If the excavation guys on your construction team uncover items which could be of archaeological interest, you may be wondering what to do next. The best thing to do is to reach out to an archaeological excavating service. This article will talk you through the steps this type of service will take when working on your site.

Surveying

The first thing the archaeological service will do is a survey of the site. As well as performing visual checks for signs of further archaeological treasure, they may also use ground-penetrating radar to look for structures, which are buried beneath the soil. The survey will ensure that the team properly allocate resources to different parts of the site and will increase the chance that they will dig in an area, which contains items or structures of interest.

Excavating

Once the team are happy that they have a good map of the site, they will begin the process of excavation. While the team may use heavy machinery to remove the top layers of soil, they will soon slow down the pace of the excavation by using handheld tools to delicately scrape away deeper layers of soil and clay. While using handheld tools can be slow, it helps to prevent damage to any items of interest before they are removed from the ground. During the excavation, the team will constantly assess the different strata of earth they uncover as changes in the soil or clay can indicate different periods and eras. Any items which are found will be carefully removed and stored.

Cleaning

Once items of interest have been removed, the team will carefully wash and clean them. Because archaeological items can be fragile, a great deal of care will be taken to ensure they are not damaged. Water which has a neutral pH will be used to wash down objects to remove any surface dirt and grime. The items will be then left to dry for a day or so. Metal objects are cleaned using a brush as water could cause damage to them.

Cataloguing 

Finally, the team will catalogue each find for reference. Each entry will include details such as the location of the find, the type of object or structure which has been found and the estimated dates relating to the age of the item.

If you are interested in finding out more about this subject, you should get in touch with an archaeology excavation service today.