Expert: Ralph Salier - 12/1/2008

Question
What factors account for the process of burying ancient archeological sites?  Why are such finds nearly always well under the ground?

Answer
Hi Jeff,

Not all sites are deeply buried, take Stone Henge for example.  But many sites are deeply buried and there are many reasons for this.

1) depending on the location of the site, erosion of upland soils can bury sites at the base of such uplands quite deeply
2) Flooding of rivers can bury sites located along rivers very deeply based on the amount of silt carried by those flood waters.
3) wind blown sand and silt can bury sites very deeply
4) atmospheric dust accumulates on the ground at a rate of 1/2 inch per year and more depending on the amount of stuff in the air.
5) leaf litter and the decomposition of plant materials can build up rather quickly once a site has been overgrown.
6) Volcanism, lahars and land slides can bury sites deeply as well

There are other actions besides these but these are the major ones.