The Destruction & Preservation Of evidence Over time, both the natural environment & the actions of human beings are responsible for the destruction & preservation of sources of evidence of the past. Through research it has been shown that more artefacts have been lost or destroyed than have be preserved. These means for archaeologist & historians that they be aware that during there reconstructions & interpretations that the past is limited by lost gaps in the evidence. During this process of finding archaeologist & historians must be aware that over centuries of time most artefacts have been destroyed by decay & mould witch destroys much of the evidence of the past. There are many other causes to the destruction of artefacts & evidence such as floods, earthquakes , volcanoes & many other natural disasters that have taken their toll. Looting of tombs is one of the most violated acts in destroying the past so that archaeologist and historians may never be able to complete there research for what that they are studying. The survival of physical remains from the past depends very much on the material from witch that they are made from. People play a huge role in the preservation of all artefacts, either by deliberately or accidently. Burial customs play a most significance role because tombs , hidden from grave robbers, have preserved grave goods and bodies. This may provide archaeologist with opportunities to learn about the people who built them. Hatshepsut’s mummy 1 1 Antiquity 1 the destruction & preservation of evidence PG 29-35