Archaeology is the science that studies the traces and remains of people of the past to obtain an insight into old cultures, their development and their possible influence on each other. Such traces and remains can be tens of thousands of years old or more, but can also be of a relatively recent date.

Traces can be in the form of decolouration in the soil, for example; these traces may possibly have come from pile holes, which can give an indication with respect to habitation (settlement, dating, type of dwelling). But a 19th-century shipwreck can also be important for science (trade contacts, ship designs).

Archaeology is not aimed primarily at ‘digging up the past’. On the contrary: digging, studying, analysing and possibly preserving only occurs as a last resort. It may sound odd, but archaeologists prefer to keep objects untouched and ‘in situ’, as it is called.