Definition of "excavate" []

• To make a hole in; hollow out: excavate an ore-rich hillside. (verb-transitive)
• To form by hollowing out. (verb-transitive)
• To remove by digging or scooping out. (verb-transitive)
• To expose or uncover by or as if by digging: excavate an archaeological site. (verb-transitive)
• To engage in digging, hollowing out, or removing. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "That would be as if Muslims invaded Italy and tried to "excavate" the Sistine Chapel."
• "And then the Muslims started declaring that they needed to "excavate" under the Sistine Chapel."
• "Having Israeli neo-cons "excavate" around the Al Aqsa mosque would be pretty much the same as if Muslims had arrived in Italy 60 years ago, drove most of the Italians off their land, stole their cities and villages and made everybody in Italy learn to speak Arabic or else."