Civil Excavations and Tunnelling: A Practical Guide, Second Edition

by Ratan Tatiya (Author)

From The Book:
"Excavation means dislodging the rock or ground from its
place in situ and disposing of it from there, thereby
creating an opening. When exposed to the sun and
atmosphere this opening is known as an open cut or
surface opening, and when the opening is created beneath
the ground and not exposed to the atmosphere it is
known as an underground or subsurface opening. Civil
excavations mean those excavations that are usually
under the purview of Civil and Construction Engineering
disciplines, in terms of their planning, design, execution,
construction and maintenance."