Fieldwork & Excavation
📋 What it is
Excavation is slow, careful and one-way — you can only dig a site once, so archaeologists record everything as they go.
🗣️ Coach says
Here’s the archaeologist’s golden rule: you can dig a site only ONCE. Every scoop destroys what was there, so they record and photograph obsessively as they go. Careful now means answers forever; careless means the story is gone.
🧠 Memory hook
You can only dig a site ONCE. Record everything.
😂 Giggle
The stratigraphy professor's lectures have real depth — layer after layer of content!
😲 Whoa!
Some archaeologists deliberately leave part of a site un-dug — so future scientists with better tools can study it too.
🗺️ Choose your path through the dig. There’s no way to lose — a wrong turn just sends you back to try again.
A big site awaits. Your team is excited to dig it up fast. What pace do you set?
Dead end! You can dig a site only ONCE. Racing destroys the evidence forever. Slow down and record.
You realise every scoop destroys what was there, so records are the only lasting evidence.
Wise archaeologists deliberately leave part of a site un-dug — so future scientists with better tools can study it too.
By working slowly and recording everything, your careful dig means answers forever — not a lost story.
🧠 Say it back: Archaeologists work slowly and record everything because excavation destroys the site as they go and can only be done once — careful records are the only lasting evidence.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Name one reason it would be a mistake to dig up a site quickly and messily.