Why is archeology buried

Cities built of more durable materials like stone or fired brick are usually not completely buried. The monuments of Rome, for example, have always been visible, even though prior to the start of serious archaeological work some were half-buried due to siltation, plant overgrowth, trash accumulation, and so on. The real problem was medieval and Renaissance contractors carting away parts of old buildings to use in putting up their own.

In some cases, not just in Rome, buildings were completely razed and new structures built on the old foundations, providing yet another lode of archaeological ore — a fact that must give us pause, given the state of many modern basements. Clean up that mess today, lest you make us look bad in the eyes of scientists yet unborn. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.

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Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. Dear Cecil: How come archaeological ruins are always underground? Why is it called a restroom, anyway? How did public libraries get started? Thanks for signing up!

Check your inbox for a welcome email. New houses were built on top of the ruins of old ones because hauling away rubble was labour intensive and it was much easier to simply spread it out and build straight on top.

Rivers periodically flooded and added a layer of silt, while in dry regions the wind was constantly blowing in sand and dust. The Sphinx was buried up to its head in sand until archaeologists re-excavated it in When ancient towns were abandoned entirely, plant seeds quickly took root and created more bulk from the CO 2 they pulled from the air.

What is stratigraphy? What tools do archaeologists use? Do archaeologists dig up dinosaurs? Do archaeologists dig up a lot of treasure? What happens to all the stuff archaeologists find? Are they allowed to keep anything? Why is archaeological work being done at Prescot Street? How do I become an archaeologist? Why do environmental archaeologists look at dirt? What happens to the things you find?