Archaeologists had to excavate several meters of compacted soil before reaching the remnants of the ancient marketplace.
考古学家必须挖掘数米厚的压实土壤，才能触及古代市场的遗迹。
An archaeologist proposes that a newly excavated settlement engaged in long-distance trade rather than relying solely on local resources.
From a Command of Evidence: Textual question · Information and Ideas
Archaeologists excavating a Bronze Age settlement found large storage jars filled with charred grain in nearly every household they examined, alongside no evidence of a centralized granary or communal storage building anywhere in the settlement.
From a Inferences question · Information and Ideas
An archaeologist proposes that a newly excavated settlement had a specialized division of labor rather than every household performing the same tasks.
From a Command of Evidence: Textual question · Information and Ideas
Which choice best defines “excavate”?
D — To dig out and remove earth to find something buried. “excavate” means to dig out and remove earth to find something buried.
Which word means “to dig out and remove earth to find something buried”?
C — excavate. “excavate” means to dig out and remove earth to find something buried.
excavate — to dig out and remove earth to find something buried. In Chinese: 挖掘，发掘.
excavate is pronounced /ˈɛkskəˌveɪt/.
Archaeologists had to excavate several meters of compacted soil before reaching the remnants of the ancient marketplace. (考古学家必须挖掘数米厚的压实土壤，才能触及古代市场的遗迹。)
dig, unearth, exhume — all close in meaning to excavate (to dig out and remove earth to find something buried).
bury, cover — each the opposite of excavate (to dig out and remove earth to find something buried).
Yes. excavate is on the SAT Prep Basic list — the everyday academic words the SAT assumes you already have. The Digital SAT does not test vocabulary in isolation; words like this one are tested through Words in Context questions, where you choose the word that completes a passage most logically and precisely.