Archaeological dig sites found from construction sites
Archaeology is by far one of the most interesting fields of science. It deals with the past civilizations which hold a tremendous attraction for us. It has been likened to historical detective work where one can piece together past lives and events using only the remains that can be dug up from the ground. It is not surprising therefore that it has even attracted the interest of even ordinary people and not just the scientists. They have turned to it as the most fulfilling sort of hobby that one can engage in.
The irony though is that some of the most important archaeological discoveries of all time were not uncovered on purpose. Of course there were expeditions that set out to uncover the secrets of ancient civilizations, but sometimes the discoveries were made by accident. There are numerous cases when ancient artefacts and monuments were uncovered by construction workers digging in order to build something new. What they uncover instead is a link to the past.
It is easy to understand why construction work could uncover so many archaeological find; the workers would have to dig in order to lay the foundations of a new structure. They would come across some objects and stones that would have been part of an ancient complex.
There is a problem with such discoveries though. Since the workers are not counting on finding anything, they might be careless in the way that they dig and that could damage artefacts. Who knows how many archaeological treasures have been damaged this way? Another concern is that since they are not trained in the right way for digging artefacts then it could result in damage that could be irreparable. Then there is also the problem of looting, especially when the workers know that artefacts could be valuable.
As we have mentioned there are so many sites that have been uncovered by construction projects. One of the most recent examples is the site of an ancient Hindu temple that was uncovered in the island of Bali in Indonesia. It is said that the temple could go back to the 13th or 15th Century.
One of the most famous archaeological discoveries to have been unearthed by accident is the ancient Terracotta Army in China. It was unearthed by farmers who were trying to construct a well on the site. Aside from the army of figures, an entire necropolis was also uncovered on the site.
