1610s, "action of excavating," from Latin excavationem (nominative excavatio) "a hollowing out," noun of action from past participle stem of excavare "to hollow out" (see [..]

Excavation refers to any operation involving movement of earth, rock or other materials below existing grade or surface level. Excavation can include digging, blasting, boring, tunneling, and backfilling.

area that has been dug up or exposed for study.

The digging up and recording of archaeological sites, including uncovering and recording the provenience, context, and three-dimensional location of archaeological finds.

the act of digging; "there's an interesting excavation going on near Princeton" dig: the site of an archeological exploration; "they set up camp next [..]

To break, turnover, or remove (earth or sand) with a tool such as shovel, bulldozer, backhoe, scrapper, etc.

digging out and removing the earth that covers some buried objects.

A cavity or pit produced by digging the earth in preparation for construction.

(n) the act of digging(n) the site of an archeological exploration(n) a hole in the ground made by excavating(n) the act of extracting ores or coal etc from the earth

A cavity or pit produced by digging the earth in preparation for construction.

the systematic digging and recording of an archaeological site.

the systematic, planned digging of an archaeological site in order to obtain information about the past human activity

The principle method of data acquisition in archaeology, involving the systematic uncovering of archaeological remains through the removal of the deposits of soil and the other material covering them [..]

an area where rock or alluvium has been removed.

"Excavation" means any operation in which earth, rock or other material on or below the ground is moved or otherwise displaced by any means, except sidewalk, road and ditch maintenance less [..]

The systematic digging of a site to search for remains from the past

the study of an archaeological site by carefully digging the layers of earth.

One of the principle means by which archaeological data is captured and recorded. Even though excavations are destructive by nature, the site and its finds are preserved by record

(uncountable) The act of excavating, or of making hollow, by cutting, scooping, or digging out a part of a solid mass. (countable) A cavity formed by cutting, digging, or scooping. (countable) A [..]