29th April 2012, 01:04 PM
Martin Locock Wrote:To return to my original question - is there a need for such a handbook? What about Martin Carver's Archaeological Excavation (2009) - anyone read it/ used it?
Is it going to include really basic stuff like how to trowel and shovel? - stuff that doesn't seem to be covered by other books? A lot of supervisors these days (and probably twas always the case) can't trowel for **** (as demonstrated on a weekly basis on tv, what a mess!) so their workforce are never likely to learn anything from them. Really simple stuff like:-
a) Learning to trowel with both hands - greatly extends the period before you need physio...
b) If you're leaving grooves when trowelling you're gripping the trowel too tightly, on a flattish surface the trowel finds its own level, plus with a looser grip you accidentally pull less stones out and leave less embarrassing holes in your otherwise pristine 'clean' surface
c) When cleaning back a strip, trowel systematically in from each side (handy if you've learnt to trowel with both hands), all those annoying crumbs automatically move ahead of your trowelling direction from each side and collect in a neat heap in the centre - and in trowelling lines you don't get those stupid lines of left-behind-spoil between people's strips
d) When cleaning along a narrow trench always work from the sides inwards, and cut the baulk/base angle sharp (looks loads better in pics, and also makes the trench look deeper and more impressive for some reason) [for no obvious reason it's deemed unethical to do a slight underscore which looks even better in photos, so I tend not to draw attention to it....]
e) Keep your spoil to a minimum, no point trowelling the stuff 98 times when you're only being paid to move it once, plus trowelling into a big heap of loose means you're likely to miss a lot of the smaller finds [and kneeling in a heap of damp soil eventually rots your knees....]
f) When cleaning an area with projecting stones down to a level, use the point of the trowel to clean into and define the edges of the stones sharply at the same level - makes the stones stand out on photos - and give the top of each stone a quick brush as you go, pain in the **** having to go back to them....
h) When trowelling sticky clay etc keep you trowel blade clean by scraping it regularly on a hand-shovel, your thumb or the top of a bucket - the clag on your trowel sticks to and pulls up the surface you've just trowelled to and just leaves a mess
All really rather basic but surprising how many diggers don't seem to have been taught/mastered any of the above! :0
Don't even get me started on how ****most shovelling on site is - you'd think they'd want to learn how to do it properly if only to avoid all those horrendous back injuries and having to clean up around where the barrow was - why not learn to put it in the barrow first time around? :face-crying: