A short stick found during search of burial site (8)
I believe the answer is:
catacomb
'burial site' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'a short stick found during search' is the wordplay.
'short stick' becomes 'tac' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'found during' is an insertion indicator.
'search' becomes 'comb' (combing is a kind of searching).
'a'+'tac'='atac'
'atac' put within 'comb' is 'CATACOMB'.
'of' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for catacomb that I've seen before include "Underground burial chamber" , "Place to bury" , "Burial chamber with vaulted tunnels" , "Burial-place" , "Underground network" .)