578 | ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959 
Figure 1.—The location of the Aamosen bog, West-Zealand, Denmark. The area marked 
with a square is shown enlarged in figure 2. 
One of the greatest difficulties connected with excavations in bogs 
is the high water level. Therefore, the most practical thing to do is 
to drain the area under investigation by digging a system of trenches 
all around it. In case it is a larger settlement, it may be divided into 
a number of blocks which can be examined one after another (pl. 1). 
The purpose of an excavation is not only to bring to light the vari- 
ous artifacts, flint tools, potsherds, etc., but also to find out how they 
lie in relation to each other and to make all other possible observa- 
tions. Planning and carrying out such an excavation are difficult for 
two reasons: (1) During the excavation and investigation the site 
itself is destroyed, and observations not made in the course of the 
excavation work will be irrevocably lost. (2) Every excavator works 
with a certain fund of knowledge and a certain expectation of what 
he may find and observe, with the result that some of the things sought 
are found, while others which are also sought are not. In conduct- 
ing an excavation, it is essential to let imagination work upon the 
