Archaeology.. and methods of extracting antiquities from underground.
Archaeology is a collection of traces, and it is the sign, which means what the previous ones left.
Archaeology is the science that studies the history of ancient human civilizations and is concerned with identifying the remnants of the previous peoples of a civilization that includes buildings, statues, money, and the arts. The term archaeology is a translation of the word archaeology, which is a Greek word that consists of two syllables, Archio (in Greek: Archaios), meaning the ancient or archaic, and logos (in Greek: logos), which means science or study, and thus the meaning of the term becomes science that is concerned with the study of ancient civilizational and material matters. The first century AD and was indicative of a class of drama actors who represented ancient myths on the stage, and this was common in countries that spoke the Greek language, and then this term disappeared until his return in the seventeenth century AD by the doctor Jack Spoon, who published a book In it, he talks about his trip to the Levant and the Greeks, and he used the words archaeology and areography, and the first became popular while the second was forgotten Yeh,
In the modern era, archaeologists did not agree on a specific and clear meaning of archaeology. Still, in general, it can be said that it is the science that studies the archaeological and civilizational remnants of man and goes beyond them to study man’s past in historical stages, taking into account the tools he used in his life.
As for the emergence of archaeology, BC, where Homer, who lived during the fifth century B.C., was the father of archaeology and the first to mention it in his writings, the king of Babylon, Nabonidus, was interested in collecting archaeological artefacts. After them, archaeology’s interest began to increase little by little, especially in the first century AD and beyond. Archaeology is an important branch of anthropology, as it is concerned with discovering and knowing the nature of human cultures in past ages. It can be said that archaeology is concerned with studying the ancient man from the various aspects that enable his knowledge and access to it. Throughout different times, and that the proximity or distance in the time that archaeology studies have a big role in the difference in the material that science arrives at through different searches, and it can be said that modern archaeology differs in its meaning from ancient archaeology, as the ancient is concerned with searching for treasures in a way. Great. As for the hadith, it is summarized in two basic matters: the first of them is concerned with excavation, research, and access to antiquities, then the codification of their descriptions, their characteristics and methods of preserving them, and the second of them concern the questioning A number of these effects are in the knowledge and discovery of ancient civilizations and the mechanism of their development and history.
 
Antiquities detection methods
 
Archaeological excavation is a method of archaeology through which various archaeological artefacts are collected, whether buildings, pottery, jewellery, money, or other archaeological materials. The archaeological excavation was known in the past as they search for ancient treasures. It focused On an adventure that archaeologists undertake to search for treasures and decorate the palaces of rulers or trade them. The concept of excavation was developed to follow the correct scientific methods related to archaeology. It became interested in searching for all the material remnants of various previous civilizations without differentiating between the antiquities made of clay or gold. It went beyond collecting bone waste as well, and the value of the antiquities has changed as well. It is limited to the material side, but rather the information obtained, whether historical, cultural, political or whatever its type, has become of great importance and value.
The detection of antiquities usually begins with what is known as the archaeological survey, which is the effort made by archaeologists, which aims to locate archaeological sites and know the extent of their extent through the use of topographic maps, aerial photographs and various scientific means that are used to discover archaeological sites, but without carrying out any excavations, Then a description of the archaeological remnants present in them of whatever type, whether they are buildings or walls, or metal properties, glass or pottery, and there are many types of archaeological survey, there is the comprehensive survey, which is the survey of all parts of the region with its lows and heights, and it is the latest type of archaeological survey, and it reveals All kinds of antiquities and their forms using modern scientific methods used to detect antiquities, as well as optional or partial survey, in which a specific area is selected to be archaeologically surveyed according to the desired objectives of the survey, such as the goal required to know the history of a specific area, and there is a rescue survey, which is in which areas are surveyed In which large projects are established, such as dams and main roads, and among the methods that are followed to uncover the effects are the following:
 
1 – Detection of antiquities on land
 
Among the methods of detecting traces on land are: chemical methods. Among the most important chemical methods are:
 
– Chemical analysis of soil: In this method, soil samples are taken and analyzed comprehensively, and thus areas that contain rich soil are defined and special in phosphates, calcium, carbon, and nitrogen, as these minerals are formed from excretions and wastes thrown by humans, and through these minerals, sites can be identified. Which contain archaeological samples better,
 
Examine the pollen grains: Pollen is what male flowers produce to pollinate the female flowers. Suppose pollen falls from flower to flower on soil suitable for survival, such as clay, acid, or charcoal soil. In that case, it will harden and fossilize, and if it is identified using the microscope And determining its type, the types of plants that were grown at that time can be known, and whether the area was inhabited or not. The prevailing weather conditions can also be known; for example, pine plants live in cold places while they live in Palms in hot regions.
 
Geophysical methods
 
Among the geophysical methods that are used to detect archaeology: Determining the strength of the magnetic field: It is an easy, fast and simple way to identify archaeological remains less than 6 m deep from the ground level, and this method is based on the discovery of archaeological materials that have magnetic properties, such as rocks, or soil. Which contain in its components iron, or pottery which is originally composed of iron oxides and other materials that are buried in the ground, and make the strength of the magnetic field high, and thus easy to detect using a device known as the magnetometer, and there are several types of this device, the best of which are It is the proton magnetometer that can survey an acre of Earth in approximately four hours. Acoustic resistance: This method relies on hearing the echo of sounds striking the ground using a resonance device, as the echo varies with different soil components, and the echo range is recorded and drawn in graphs, then studied and analyzed.
 
– Methods for detection of traces by radiography
 
Among the methods of detecting traces by radiation: X-rays have the ability to penetrate through objects, and the force of their passage through objects depends on their density, and these rays have been used since 1985 AD in detecting traces that lie below the surface of the Earth’s surface, and are different from the earthy layer.
 
Cosmic rays:
 
These rays were discovered in 1912 CE and 1923 CE scientists gave them this name, and they are particles with very high energy estimated at millions of millions of electron volts. They have a supernatural ability to pass through the particles, and their ability to penetrate objects decreases with the increase in the hardness of the particles. Although it regularly falls on the earth’s surface from outer space and with the same force in all directions, its permeability can be estimated through a device known as the spark chamber. These rays were used to locate the burial chamber in the pyramid of Khafre, as its location was not known before. The rays that penetrated through the room were greater than anywhere else, the room being thinner than others.
 
– The tentacle method
 
They are copper pegs, each one is 1 m long and 1.25 cm in diameter, and these pegs are planted in the ground at equal distances between them. The depth reached by each peg is calculated, as it is difficult for him to reach a greater depth, and they are drawn with graphical lines and are analyzed; however, this method is difficult to use if the rock is at a profound depth and if the soil is clay, and it may lead to damage to the buried antiquities.
 
– Mechanical aspiration method
 
It is a hollow metal tube with a 5-10 cm diameter implanted in the ground until it reaches the virgin earth. Through it, the layers of the earth and its archaeological components can be determined, the history of each of them and the extent of their depth, and this method can destroy parts of the buried antiquities or their remains. It should be minimized to one place.
 
– Proscope Nestry device
 
The Nistri Periscope device is a drilling machine at the end of a photographic camera. This device is usually used to uncover graves or buried and hollow rooms, where it can photograph and know everything inside without digging it completely.
 
Aerial photos
 
They are pictures taken of the earth’s surface without any lines or symbols. All aspects of the earth’s surface are shown, including water bodies, roads, and residential compounds, and appear in their true size according to the specified scale of the image. It is important to study the changes that the earth’s surface has undergone and know the rocks and ground minerals and their locations. They have many uses after being first used in military and war matters for the first time in 1922 A.D. They are two types, either inclined or vertical, and each of them has its uses and methods of capturing it, as well as its importance in archaeology and detection; it is represented in the fact that it captures things that the naked eye cannot see, which would show the sites of archaeological sites and the area that they occupy on the surface of the Earth, and that is through the colours, for example, the colours of plants that have faint archaeological remains appear below, while the plants are Below it is bright, fertile soil and this contrast and difference in colour tones cannot be seen by the naked eye as accurately as is the case in aerial photographs.