Peter Salmond
Understanding the tools accessible to you on a site is essential to working as efficiently and accurately as possible. There is a lot that goes into picking the right tool for the right task, and learning what each archaeological utensil available to you can do can save you a lot of time and frustration.
When I first began working in the field this season, the work seemed trivial. Digging holes, dusting rocks and moving sod? Easy! I was an overconfident layman, and I was ready to take archaeology by storm. I soon realized how meticulous the work of an archaeologist is, taking notes from Kate and James. For instance, on my first day on site BcGn-23 with my now friends Brooklynn and Xander, we made considerable progress. We began to quickly realize that we were far surpassing other units as well. This flash in the pan success did not sit right with us, so we began to investigate why. One of the first things we noticed was that our sod cuts were almost five times thicker than anyone else’s. We had been essentially digging up entire layers of the stratigraphy without a second thought. With the help of 3 spade shovels, we had entirely removed large chunks of sod, as well as half of the layer beneath, into comically gigantic Minecraft-esque dirt blocks. The process had aged my back about 15 years and nearly broke the handle of my shovel. I later learned that the square-head shovel was designed to cut the sod into perfect squares, and the sod lifter was a tool one could use to cut thinner pieces for easier removal. This is when I learned a good rule of thumb for working on site; if the task you’re trying to complete is too difficult, you’ve probably chosen the wrong tool.
Another important lesson I can thank Kate for is how to use the hand broom. You can imagine a hand broom as an old wicker broom without the handle, allowing for it to be used similarly to a paintbrush. When an archaeologist finishes a unit, it’s important to get the floor of the unit as clean as possible. This allows for more accurate sketching of the site and better documentation. There tends to be a lot of loose dirt on the floor of the unit once you’re complete, and it can be really frustrating trying to scoop it all out. That’s when I made the connection in my head: brooms are good for sweeping, I should use the hand broom to clean the floor of my unit! I began working away, sweeping the walls, the floor, and the features. I felt like the Snow-White equivalent of archaeology, blissfully tidying my unit without a thought. Kate had made her way over and observed me working and quickly pointed out the problem. She explained to me that if I was dusting the walls, the floor, and the loose dirt, I was essentially mixing all the dirt from different layers I had dug into. With my paintbrush in hand, I had essentially blended much of the loose stratigraphy into an ambiguous new shade on the floor of my unit. This made it very difficult to discern where the new layer began and could significantly mess with a lot of documentation later. Kate said that I should instead be using the trowel to scoop the dirt out, not just sweep it around. The brush should be used to dust off features and only when a trowel could not complete the task.

Knowing when to use your tools is important, but an archaeologist also must know how to use them correctly. It’s easy to get caught up in the idea of efficiency and working quickly, but I’ve learned that a lot of work in the field can benefit from a steady and patient hand. For instance, the screens on site used to sift through dirt for artifacts are supported by two legs, making it easy to pile upwards of 3 buckets worth of soil and sift through them with relative ease. I had become accustomed to almost overloading my screen and sifting through large piles of soil. When working on test pits however, the screens are much smaller and are not held up by two legs, allowing for them to be carried with you while you move to different units. An archaeologist is required to hold and support the weight of this screen while also sifting it, which means that it is not optimal to just pile as much dirt as you can onto it. Before working on test pits, I had my fair share of experience sifting and was comfortable with my routine. On my first test pit, I placed my screen on the ground, dug my hole, and piled every bit of rock and soil onto it as much as I could. As I prepared to lift it, I felt a sharp pain in my back. I could hardly get the screen off the ground, let alone sift through the heap of dirt. I had to force myself to be patient with the amount of dirt I was accumulating at a time, and my muscles were thankful for it.


I learned a lot about working on a site these past few weeks, and I also learned a lot about myself and my working style. I learned that hard work does not always mean fast work, and it takes time to do something right (especially in archaeology). If I had to sum up what I had learned into advice for someone going into field school next summer, I’d say you should know your tools, know your limits, and try not to work for the sake of being done quickly, there’s always a new hole that needs digging!
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