Archaeologists dig down deep to find ancient ruins. Where does all the earth that's covering them come from?

Question

There are millions of tons of soil in layers covering old buildings and buried artefacts. Where does all this come from, and how does it get so evenly distributed? Is it anything to do with plants pulling up material through their roots? I've always wondered!

Answer 1

Ancient ruins are not always buried, and usually not very deeply, maybe a few meters at most.  Think of the pyramids, Myan ruins, Stonehenge...  If they are buried then it can be from flooding or wind-blown sediments and occasionally volcanoes, although usually it is the buildings themselves deteriorating or from later humans building on top of older sites.  Buildings, especially made of dirt or clay bricks, simply wear away into themselves, so the dirt that is filling the house imprint is made of the former walls of the house.  Or as happens a lot in europe and the middle east, people simply used the rocks and bricks for other buildings and then later built on the ancient foundations, so there can be many layers of ancient building sites.  Hope this helps.

Answer 2

The layers come from decomposed plants and animals and from other soils and stuff that the wind blows in....

Answer 3

Any process that can pick up dirt has to deposit it somewhere. So you can have a flood drop mud on top of a building, wind blown dust, animals etc. Also if the building is on soft bround it will slowly sink.