To excavate means to dig out earth or other material from the ground, often to find or uncover something buried. Archaeologists excavate sites to discover old buildings, tools, and bones.
It comes from Latin 'excavare', meaning 'to hollow out', from 'ex-' (out) and 'cavus' (hollow). The word kept the idea of creating a hollow space by removing material.
When you excavate, you’re basically turning solid ground into a story by removing what hides it. Every hole an archaeologist digs is a time machine going downward instead of forward.
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