I prefer E.
The main structure of this sentence should be "the discovery/discovering has doubled the number of...", and e feels better than b.

A or E is correct? ple help

IMO E
A is rejected because "has nearly double the number of these artifacts known to exist " has no subject.
also during the excavating is wrong

IMO E

My observations are
1. somehow excavating looks awkward therefore A,C,D are suspect
2. discovery is the subject in E
3. B is a contender
4. Option C ,Discovering......has no main verb
5. Option D, Ceramic dog figurine have not nearly doubled by themselves but its the discovery which has led to the doubling. Also "has" => singular does not fit the main subject ceramic dog figurines
6. E is also a contender

between B & E
In B the main subject is "twenty one ceramic dog figurines" so "has nearly double...." becomes incorrect

E is correct

Feel free to comment on the reasoning used by me.

It would be of great help. Experts please help

rah_pandey wrote: 4. Option C ,Discovering......has no main verb

I think discovering acts as gerund here (the act of discovery), so has will serve as the main verb of the sentence.
I rejected C because it uses 'at the excavating', it should be 'at the excavation' or 'during the excavation'
B is absurd because dog figurines hasn't doubled anything, their discovery has
I was between C and E finally, and chose E

I perceived B in the following way

Twenty-one ceramic dog figurines discovered at the excavation has nearly doubled

I thought Twenty-one ceramic dog figurines discovered at the excavation is a noun phrase and is singular here

Where am I wrong ?

hk_4u wrote:I perceived B in the following way

Twenty-one ceramic dog figurines discovered at the excavation has nearly doubled

I thought Twenty-one ceramic dog figurines discovered at the excavation is a noun phrase and is singular here

Where am I wrong ?

@hk_4u


E :the discovery of twenty one ceramic dog figurines during the excavation of a 1000-year old Hohokam village in Temple, Arizona, has nearly doubled the number of these artifacts known to exist .

the discovery : Noun

verb : doubled

has: singular

Coming to B:

Subject :twenty one ceramic dog figurines ( plural)

This subject( plural) has conflict with "has"( singular)

Point 2: During Vs at. Excavation is a continuous process for which "during" suits better compared tp "at".

Hope these points make sense