A sondage is an

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

process to clarify stratigraphic sequences during preliminary investigations of the

terrain Terrain (), alternatively relief or topographical relief, is the dimension and shape of a given surface of land. In physical geography, terrain is the lay of the land. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientati ...

prior to an archaeological dig. In a narrower sense it is a "deep trial trench for inspecting stratigraphy".''sondage''
at collinsdictionary.com. Retrieved 10 December 2021. In doing so, several approximately test excavations are carried out over the area, as far as possible down to the 'natural soil' level. Clearly recognizable layers of

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

(possibly created by hiatuses or fire horizons) allow an initial overview, and individual finds made in the process can be assigned to a specific layer in suitable cases. In the case of a probe, technical work steps such as the precise measurement of the cut are particularly important. In a figurative sense, a survey procedure is also called a sondage.

References

Methods in archaeology {{archaeology-stub