12th June 2013, 01:33 PM
Lesson 6 Efficiency [SIZE=2]
In commercial archaeology, efficiency is key. It is perhaps obvious that if all the diggers spent the majority of their time walking too and from the site, the site hut and tool shed to get tools, numbers, evacuate their bowels,etc little work would get done and as a consequence little archaeology would be saved from the inevitable destruction by construction.
Also those older experienced diggers that seem to produce improbable amounts of work are doing this through often strict self-made rules of efficiency. Point the barrow in the direction it's going to be pushed, wheel on the run before filling it. Straighten the section as your going, not at the end. Clean away from the section to be photograph as your clearing the last of the spoil. Clean around the top of the feature before cleaning out the bottom. Dig, clean, photograph, draw section, draw plan, write context sheets in that order. Everyone has their own system and tricks. The starting digger should study the 'ways' of other diggers to find out what works best for them.
Each site is different, a myriad of obstacles may be placed in your path. The records, tools, toilets etc. may be a long walk from where you are working. The client may require the team to sign in at their central compound before traveling to site. Ground conditions may make wheel barrows near useless. Shelter from the weather may be far from close at hand.
Thinking and planning ahead are the solution, as is adaptability. Carry a notebook, take out a block of numbers when your break is over. Take up all the tools/tubs you'll need for the day (as much as you can predict) on the first trip up to site. Bring one or a couple of full sample tubs back to the store each break. If access is difficult, ask if anything can be done, are their alternative routes? Can vehicles be used to take heavy stuff part the way there or back?
'Forgetting' something and having to walk back to the tool store several times happens, but should be kept to a minimum and not used as an extra break.
Flexibility to work into or through a break to finish off the cleaning and get the photos done before the rain comes is admirable, as long as the break is taken after. Many hours are lost through having to re-clean sections on the next day after overnight rains or even after rain during lunch. Much vital archaeological information is lost through a failure to admit the mistake and the much-needed re-clean.
'I have ta clean this whole area, then re-cut these twa sections, then get the photos done....then I can tak a break!'
- The bulldozer
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A special important note on spoil.
Where you place/ chuck/ dump your spoil should be chosen very carefully. If there is a communal spoil heap away from the archaeology, fine, but chuck your spoil (if in range and weather permits) or use a wheel barrow. Don't carry your spoil in little bits in a bucket or on your shovel...this will only result in back injury. Also don't let the spoil heap expand so much that it encroaches on that important pit that no one has spotted yet.
If your able to put your spoil near to where your working on your own heap, make sure your not putting it on another feature...clean the area first. Otherwise you'll end up having to move it. Many sites have 'hidden features' that only show up later as the soil oxidises or when the ground is drying from light rain. It's worth taking the time to be sure.
And lastly, don't place your spoil on the grid lines (if you have a grid) it's a real pain to dig a channel through a spoil heap to run a tape between two pegs.
In commercial archaeology, efficiency is key. It is perhaps obvious that if all the diggers spent the majority of their time walking too and from the site, the site hut and tool shed to get tools, numbers, evacuate their bowels,etc little work would get done and as a consequence little archaeology would be saved from the inevitable destruction by construction.
Also those older experienced diggers that seem to produce improbable amounts of work are doing this through often strict self-made rules of efficiency. Point the barrow in the direction it's going to be pushed, wheel on the run before filling it. Straighten the section as your going, not at the end. Clean away from the section to be photograph as your clearing the last of the spoil. Clean around the top of the feature before cleaning out the bottom. Dig, clean, photograph, draw section, draw plan, write context sheets in that order. Everyone has their own system and tricks. The starting digger should study the 'ways' of other diggers to find out what works best for them.
Each site is different, a myriad of obstacles may be placed in your path. The records, tools, toilets etc. may be a long walk from where you are working. The client may require the team to sign in at their central compound before traveling to site. Ground conditions may make wheel barrows near useless. Shelter from the weather may be far from close at hand.
Thinking and planning ahead are the solution, as is adaptability. Carry a notebook, take out a block of numbers when your break is over. Take up all the tools/tubs you'll need for the day (as much as you can predict) on the first trip up to site. Bring one or a couple of full sample tubs back to the store each break. If access is difficult, ask if anything can be done, are their alternative routes? Can vehicles be used to take heavy stuff part the way there or back?
'Forgetting' something and having to walk back to the tool store several times happens, but should be kept to a minimum and not used as an extra break.
Flexibility to work into or through a break to finish off the cleaning and get the photos done before the rain comes is admirable, as long as the break is taken after. Many hours are lost through having to re-clean sections on the next day after overnight rains or even after rain during lunch. Much vital archaeological information is lost through a failure to admit the mistake and the much-needed re-clean.
'I have ta clean this whole area, then re-cut these twa sections, then get the photos done....then I can tak a break!'
- The bulldozer
[/SIZE]
A special important note on spoil.
Where you place/ chuck/ dump your spoil should be chosen very carefully. If there is a communal spoil heap away from the archaeology, fine, but chuck your spoil (if in range and weather permits) or use a wheel barrow. Don't carry your spoil in little bits in a bucket or on your shovel...this will only result in back injury. Also don't let the spoil heap expand so much that it encroaches on that important pit that no one has spotted yet.
If your able to put your spoil near to where your working on your own heap, make sure your not putting it on another feature...clean the area first. Otherwise you'll end up having to move it. Many sites have 'hidden features' that only show up later as the soil oxidises or when the ground is drying from light rain. It's worth taking the time to be sure.
And lastly, don't place your spoil on the grid lines (if you have a grid) it's a real pain to dig a channel through a spoil heap to run a tape between two pegs.