This Presentation is prepared for the Graduate Students. A presentation consisting of basic information regarding the topic. Students are advised to get more information from recommended books and articles. This presentation is only for students and purely for academic purposes.

1. Excavations
Dr. Virag Sontakke

2. Excavations
•What ?
•Why ?
•When ?
•How ?

3. Excavations
Since Excavations are destruction, Archaeologist must
carefully plan the excavations, location of excavation
and recording the material remains.
Planning, Interpreting
Recording

4. What is Archeological site ?
1. Site is identified as ancient cultural deposit
2. Where ancient people lived
3. Ancient people activity area
4. Name of the site is derived from nearby
village.

5. General Appearance of the Site

6. Archaeological Mound

7. General view of the Site

8. General view of the Mound

9. General view of the Site

11. Nature of the Site: Prehistoric
1. Open Air Site
2. Cave sites
3. River Banks
4. Artefacts: Tools, Fossils, Bones, Structural
Remains if any

12. Reconstruction illustration of 400,000-year-old shelter from Terra Amata, France

13. Nature of the Site: Pr0to-historic
1. Indus Valley Civilization
2. Regional Chalcolithic
3. Big settlements, Town planning
4. Stone/brick structures
5. Small huts
6. Artefacts: Pottery, Seals, sealings,

15. Nature of the Site: Historic
1. Early states of India, Mourya, Gupta
2. Found in all India
3. Use of Bricks, coins, large metal objects
4. Big settlements, fortifications
5. Stone/brick structures
6. Artefacts : Pottery, Seals, Coins, decorative
items, religious artefacts, inscriptions, etc.

18. Site Formation Process

25. Excavation Process
• Pre-Excavations
1. Clear the land
2. Detail survey
3. Choosing the
area of
excavation
4. Contour survey
5. Layout of
trenches
6. Fixed the
Datum point
• Excavation
1. Systematic
Digging
2. Collecting
Artefacts
3. 3-
Dimentional
Measuremen
t
4. Recording
5. Section
Preparation
6. Photography
• Post-Excavation
1. Drawing
2. Stratigraphy
3. Photography
4. Structural
Documentatio
n
5. Soil Analysis
6. Bone analysis
7. Sample
Collections
8. Phytoliths,
Dating
9. Pottery
Analysis
10. Antiquity
Registrations

26. Excavations Team: A
• Depends upon the Nature of Site
1. Archaeologist
2. Geo-archaeologist
3. Paleo-botanist
4. Paleontologist
5. Zoo-archaeologist
6. Archaeo-chemist
7. Numismatists
8. Epigraphist
9. Data Analysts
10.Specialized Students

27. Excavations Team: B
1. Surveyor
2. Draftsman
3. Photographer
4. Labor contractor
5. Computer operators
6. Material Suppliers
7. Iron smiths
8. Cock
9. Watchmen
10.Guards
11. Driver

28. Excavations Tool Kit

29. Total Station

30. GILU
ND
C – Prof. V.Shinde

31. Terminology
1. Deposit (mound)
2. Trench
3. Baulk
4. Stratigraphy
5. Sections
6. Layers
7. Structures
8. Artefacts
9. Pottery

32. Types of Excavations
1. Vertical
2. Horizontal
3. Quadrangular

33. Types of an
EXCAVATIONS
Horizontal
Excavation
Vertical
Excavation Circular
Excavation
Step
Excavation
City
Excavation

34. Trench

35. Vertical Excavations
1. Excavations at small area
2. Deep excavations
3. Limited excavations
4. Quick result

36. Vertical Excavations
1. To know the culture sequence of the Site.
2. To know the antiquity of the site
3. To know the site quickly
4. When you don’t have resources
5. Limit of time
6. Limitation of time
7. Paucity of economic sources

41. Horizontal Excavations
1. Detail and systematic excavation technique
2. Site divided into grids
3. Grids known as Trenches
4. Size of the Trenches: 10 meter x 10 meter
5. Excavate up to the natural soil/bed rock
6. Most prevalent excavation technique
7. ASI and Individual institutes follows this practice

42. Horizontal Excavations
• Detail Picture of the site
• To know the complete nature of the site
• To get through information of each culture of
the site.
• To understand the

43. Layou
t
Gridding of the Site

44. Lay-out of the
Site

47. SCIENTIFIC
Ariel
Photography
For An
Excavation

51. Plan of the archaeological site

55. Quadrangular Excavations
1. Round Mounds
2. Generally used for Megalithic Burials
3. Circular structures like stupa
4. Excavated area

67. Stratifications

68. Exposed different stairs of
the Stupa
POST GUPTA PD.
GUPTA PD.
KUSHANA
PD.
Madardih, Jaunpur, Varansi

69. General View of
Index trench,
section facing
North
69

71. Post Excavations
1. Drawing
2. Stratigraphy
3. Photography
4. Structural Documentation
5. Soil Analysis
6. Bone analysis
7. Sample Collections
8. Phytoliths, Dating
9. Pottery Analysis
10. Antiquity Registrataion

83. Trenching, Threading, Cutting, Excavation, Section Preparation, Layer marking,
Stratigraphy study, Subject Preparation, Photography
1 2 3
4 5 6