Newbie seeking advice

[Tool]

End of week 1 part the Red Sea: If anyone wants to contribute to the Tool Could Do With Some Beer fund, message me and I'll tell you which pub to be in with that huge wad of cash.

[Tool]

Oh, and just for Unitof1, yes I have done some context sheets. And have discovered the joys of the word ephemeral, which sounds a whole lot better than 'I'm buggered if I can see it!'

[kevin wooldridge]

Oh, and just for Unitof1, yes I have done some context sheets. And have discovered the joys of the word ephemeral, which sounds a whole lot better than 'I'm buggered if I can see it!'

Oh yes ephemeral...I am surprised your employer isn't subscribing to the School of Jack, who I am sure would totally ban the use of the word. The word that pisses me off at present and seems to have infected our site staff as 'word of the season' is diffuse. I'd prefer the honest use of the phrase, I'm told its there by ......., but I'm buggered if I can see it'. As I am sure you are discovering, there is far too much prevarication amongst archaeologists cos they think it looks smart to....well prevaricate. I think both terms should be consigned to the trash folder unless used in a theoretical context.....

[Dinosaur]

Remember to get scientifiic dates for those ephemeral features - heads off any accusations that you made them up :face-approve:

Am about to head back into my favourite bit of landscape where half the features can only be seen from 30m away (may be tricky in a 2m trench!) with your eyes half shut at the right time of day and from the right direction, and then dug mostly by guesswork and whether or there's still any charcoal in the samples, so may be quite a lot of that again

Time Team never really explained that sort of thing to the public...

[Tool]

Where I'm working, some of the changes in context seem so subtle I do at times wonder if they are more wishful thinking than reality. Maybe my eyes haven't adjusted to it yet...

[Wax]

Dont rely on just your eyes use your finger tips feel the difference in texture, listen to the change in the sound of your trowel. Don't let anyone catch you testing the gittyness with your teeth though (industrial stuff can be a bit toxic) Oh and don't forget to use your nose as well organic material can have a distinct wiff.

[Tool]

Thanks Wax! I promise not to eat the spoil! But yes, I'm starting to appreciate just how 'talkative' the trowel can be. I was going to say 'and mattock', but some people seem to get a little angst-ridden at the mention of the M word...

I think I've been lucky/unlucky in this case to have ended up with a particularly confusing and indistinct part of the site, to the extent that the experienced guys tend to look, utter a lot of 'maybe's, 'possible's and 'Hmmmm's and then wander off again. One to a totally different site... :0

[Jack]

The concise Oxford English Dictionary defines those words as such.....

Ephemeral: adj. lasting or used for a very short time.

Diffuse: 1: v. spread over a wide area. Physics: intermingle with another substance by movement of particles
adj. spread over a wide area; not concentrated
2: lacking clarity or conciseness

[Tool]

Sorry, another question for you lovely people. Do metal tools if used carefully pose a threat to well preserved human bones, or is it best to use wood/plastic? Any other words of wisdom on the subject also appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[Dinosaur]

Best to stick to wood or plastic till you've got some experience [or you're trowel gets well worn down]. NEVER a leaf, always cringe when I see people using those, they're the cause of 99% of 'new' skeletal trauma (the other 1% as recently demonstrated on TV is mattocks to skulls). Plastic seed labels that a lot of people use aren't rigid enough. A nice blunt table-knife (not the serrated sort) is my preferred weapon of choice, robust enough to dig with but fine enough for those fiddly bits, I've found one with quite a narrow pointy-end which is perfect. A selection of spoons (ladle optional) and a set of cheap supermarket paint-brushes are must for getting the crumbs out of those tricky crevices. Later on you'll discover that a collection of matchsticks, blutack, bits of wire etc are handy for propping bits up for photos