Archaeological Terms and Tools By Rebecca Faye Kinley Fraker

Dig The site (place) being examined.

Terria A small, curved hoe-like implement used to put dirt in tubs or buckets.

Guffahs A guffah is a bucket made out of old tires.

Sifting boxes Sifting boxes have screens of different sizes. They are used to separate the dirt from the beads or bones or other artifacts in the soil or sand.

Cairn A cairn is a pile of rocks. They are used for memorial sites. Sometimes they are marking a burial site or where a battle was won or a treasure was hidden. Through the years they often get covered by vegetation.

Recesses A recess is a hidden, indented area in a cliff or cave or some other structure

Submerged “Submerged” means under the water.

Aerial Aerial means “up in the air”. An aerial view means one taken from far up, usually from a plane or satellite. Aerial view of San Francisco

Strata and Stratigraphy The different layers of soil and rock at a site are called strata. The study and science of these layers is called stratigraphy.

Tell A mound, especially in the Middle East, that is made up of different layers of previous settlements.

Trench A trench is a ditch. Often archaeologists will cut a trench across a site to get an idea of where would be the best place to dig.

Trowels A hand instrument that is used for gardening, masonry, and digging in the soil.

Dental picks Dental tools and small brushes are often used to do detail work.

Patish A simple instrument like a hammer. One end has a sharp point and the other a broad sharpened edge.

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Remains The remains can be various kinds of artifacts such as stone hammers, stone ornaments and fragments of pottery basin, or features like houses, forts and graves.

Picks and Mattocks