excavation

noun

ex·ca·va·tion ˌek-skə-ˈvā-shən

Synonyms of excavation next

: the action or process of excavating

: a cavity formed by cutting, digging, or scooping

excavational

ˌek-skə-ˈvā-sh(ə-)nəl

-shə-nᵊl

adjective

Examples of excavation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Unlike the excavation the previous day, the reburial was a major family affair. —

Michelle Ye Hee Lee, Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2023 The first full excavation took place on June 21 and yielded 35 burials, which included 20 remains that were exhumed, according to the City of Tulsa. —

Alaa Elassar, CNN, 16 Sep. 2023 Crews kept the vessel wet throughout the excavation and used small tools to help remove layers of mud, sediment and a thick layer of marine shells covering it. —

Stephanie Gallman Jordan, Southern Living, 12 Nov. 2023 This was the third excavation in an effort to identify victims. —

Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 10 Oct. 2023 Based on previous excavations at Gua Sireh, researchers think the cave was occupied as early as 20,000 years ago through as recently as 1900. —

Teresa Nowakowski, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Aug. 2023 While the characteristic bone features needed for these kinds of analyses are often destroyed by the fire or during an excavation, scientists are not always completely out of luck. —

Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 30 Aug. 2023 British archaeologists first undertook excavations at the site in the 1930s and sent many artifacts to museum collections around the world. —

Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Oct. 2023 Her lab has been involved with the case since the initial excavation. —

Natalie Kainz, NBC News, 19 Oct. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'excavation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.