In fire or earthquake, buildings collapse, burying everything in situ. Any new construction goes up on top, because clearing it away would be more work nobody w

In fire or earthquake, buildings collapse, burying everything in situ. Any new construction goes up on top, because clearing it away would be more work nobody wants. In a fire, cuneiform tablets turn into fired ceramic, preserving a snapshot of what would have been evanescent records. Sometimes kitchen contents are charred but remain recognizable. Without garbage trucks, trash gets thrown out right in back, in "middens" that build up layer by layer until they get too big and are left, providing a chronology tagged with pollen grains.