Deposit model
Following the introduction of archaeology into the planning process in most western nations, the importance of gathering as much information as possible on a site without digging it up has grown.Since the buried archaeological record is essentially a volume of earth trapped between the two archaeological horizons defined by the underlying natural geology and the horizon of modern intrusions projecting down into the record, the detailed mapping of the underlying geology of an area has become important in deposit modeling and has resulted in a growth of work for geoarchaeologists.The results of surveying can be extrapolated between known geographical points and used to estimate the impact of certain types of development.A survey of buildings identifying which have basements in them for example may suggest that certain streets have had all their archaeology removed (or truncated) in the past.Where buildings stand on top of probable or known archaeology the effect that their foundations and floors have on ground water levels may also be important in the degree of preservation that can be expected.