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During an archaeological excavation all information about a site is collected as precisely as possible. The digging also destroys antiquities. The picture shows the investigation of the Kauskila burial ground at Lappeenranta, from the time of the Crusades and the early Middle Ages. Picture, South Karelian Museum / Hanna-Mari Nieminen.
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Making an archaeological inventory means examining and systematically searching for ancient monuments in a certain area. The picture shows people studying the Lassila hill fort in Ruokolahti as part of an inventory of defence fortifications. According to tradition, the cave was used as a wartime refuge. The enemy tried to drive the people out of the cave by pouring boiling water into it, but the water cooled down before it got there. Picture, South Karelian Museum / Hannu Poutiainen.
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Archaeology unravels the past through the study of antiquities. Such research includes archaeological excavations and inventories, examinations of the sites of findings, and the handling and interpretation of material thus obtained. As a result of the studies, we acquire information about how ancient peoples lived and how the culture has developed across thousands of years.
In archaeological research we use methods from the natural sciences to help determine things like the use of natural and cultivated plants, game and livestock, the age, health, and diet of the deceased, and what impact people had on the natural environment.
