This helps archaeologists find out how many people they might need. Archaeologists need to survey the site before, during and after the excavation. Surveying is when archaeologists measure how long things are and what they looked like, so the archaeologists can draw an accurate plan of the site. On a dig archaeologists need to keep good records of the site. They need to know where everything was found and what it looked like when it was found.
Archaeologists often dig trenches to reveal layers of earth.
The sides of these trenches are called sections. A record is kept of all the objects and features found in the layers. These records help archaeologists to figure out what went on in different areas of the site, such as, where buildings were or where food was cooked. The artifacts that archaeologists dig up are called the finds. The finds are separated by the kind and the layer.