A sondage is an

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

process to clarify stratigraphic sequences during preliminary investigations of the terrain prior to an

archaeological dig In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

. 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 1 m² test excavations are carried out over the area, as far as possible down to the 'natural soil' level. Clearly recognizable layers (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