An archaeologist examines items or artefacts from the past by digging or excavating an area. He can be guided by old buildings, photos, stories or ariel photographing.He must fence off a potential site to protect it and its artefacts. The site must also be mapped and photographed. The top layer of soil is carefully removed as not to damage any delicate pieces. The site is divided into a grid of squares and each grid is labelled which allows for accurate cataloging. When an artefact is found it is photograped in place.Dating methods such as stratigraphy, dendochronology and carbon-14 dating are used to show its age. Artefacts are cataloged and small items are brushed and sieved. Artefacts are sent to be dated using techniques such as carbon 14 and dendrochonology. Artefacts are then further analysed and stored in a museum