excavation
/ɛkskəˈveɪʃ(ə)n
/noun [mass noun]
1The action of excavating something, especially an archaeological site: the methods of excavation have to be extremely rigorous...
- These questions can only be answered through the careful archaeological excavation of the site.
- After nearly two decades of excavation, the Carranque Archaeological Park is now open to the public.
- The initial phase of the archaeological excavation at Woodstown has just been completed.
Synonyms
unearthing, digging up, uncovering, revealing;
disinterment, exhumation
digging, digging out, hollowing out, scooping out, gouging, boring, channelling, sinking;
quarrying, mining
1.1 [count noun] A site that is being or has been excavated: inside the excavation were the bones of some huge creature...
- The growth of black rat populations is being traced through analysis of rat bones from excavations.
- Archeological excavations show that mound tombs constructed in this time were all very similar and yet widely distributed.
- Imported materials found during excavations indicate that the oppidum played an important role in trade between Italy and central Gaul.