Excavation

For excavation in civil engineering see earthworks (engineering).

Excavation types

There are three types of modern archaeological excavation:

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• Research excavation - when time and resources are available to excavate the site fully and at a leisurely pace. These are now almost exclusively the preserve of academics or private societies who can muster enough volunteer labour and funds. The size of the excavation can also be decided by the director as it goes on.
• Development-led excavation - undertaken by professional archaeologists when the site is threatened by building development. Normally funded by the developer meaning that time is more of a factor as well as it being focused only on areas to be affected by building. The workforce is generally more skilled however and pre-development excavations also provide a comprehensive record of the areas investigated.
• Rescue excavation - when the site has already been damaged, eg. by erosion, time is extremely limited and the excavation becomes a damage limitation exercise. Usually funded by the state and undertaken by commercial archaeologists.

Ongoing digs must number into the thousands, if not more. For a list of archaeological sites by country, see List of archaeological sites sorted by country.

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