Avlagrad

Avlagrad is a term used in Swedish-language geology and archaeology to describe material that has been deposited by natural processes. It is used as an adjective to label sediments or sedimentary units that formed through deposition in environments such as rivers, lakes, deltas, and oceans, as well as in archaeological site formation when layers of soil and debris accumulate over time.

In stratigraphy, avlagrad deposits are distinguished from igneous, metamorphic, or tectonically emplaced units. They may record changes in environmental conditions, sediment supply, and hydrology, and are often studied to interpret past climates, landscapes, or human activity.

In archaeology, avlagrade layers can contain artifacts, ecofacts, and stratigraphic information about site formation processes. Field descriptions may use the term to indicate that a layer is of depositional origin rather than primary in-situ context.

In English-language geology, the closest equivalents are deposited, sedimented, or sedimentary deposits. The term is more common in Swedish-language literature and is typically translated or rendered as “deposited” or “sedimentary” in translations.

See also: deposition, sedimentology, stratigraphy, alluvium, archaeological stratigraphy.