JVRP 2013 Field Tutorial: Tools & Techniques Field work requires specialized equipment for excavation and

recording of finds. These tools, when used properly and safely, result in precise, clear and efficient digging. It is very important to follow safety protocols on site at all times, especially when wielding large or sharp tools!

The archaeologists tool kit includes plastic finds bags, tags, writing utensils, trowel, weed clippers, square-and-leaf tool, brushes, line level and string, scale rulers, measuring tape, nails, and files to sharpen tools (Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center, www.uwlax.edu/mvac/ProcessArch/ProcessArch/glossary)

Excavation tools: heavy work, detail work, and cleaning I. Equipment for heavy work (i.e. what youll be using most of the time to move LOTS of dirt): 1) The pick-axe is arguably the most delicate tool in archaeology. When used carefully, the pick serves as a sensitive gauge of sediment texture which provides important clues about the sediment matrix. This tools primary task is to loosen sediment in large volumes for quick collection and removal. The pick is used to get through topsoil and layers of fill and collapse. To accomplish this goal, the pick is used most often in conjunction with the other large tools, namely the turiya, black dirt bucket (colored buckets are for pottery collection only), and wheelbarrow. Technique: Systematically removing sediment in a controlled way is key to digging cleanly and efficiently. Working in teams to excavate in small strips starting at the corner of the excavation unit is the best method. Go no deeper than two or three passes with the pick before moving on to 1

the next strip. Team members will have to rotate jobs using the pick to loosen soil, the turiya to collect soil, and buckets and wheelbarrows to remove the dirt. Once the entire excavation unit is level, it is time to clean and straighten the baulks and corners of the square or trench using a trowel, patiche, masonry trowel, and dustpan. Important notes: Notify your supervisor immediately if you observe changes in the sediment texture or color or if you uncover any finds (artifacts, architecture, in situ pottery, bones, etc.) while using the pick. In terms of safety when wielding the pick: always look around before you begin to pick to make sure other team members are out of the way. Notify your squaremates before you start so they are aware their surroundings. Never raise the pick above your head or over your shoulders. This is unnecessary, tiring, and a safety hazard as you can hit someone behind you, catch a low-hanging shade with the head of the pick, lose control of your aim, or the head of the pick could come loose and fall down the handle, hitting you in the head or hands.

The pick-axe: dont do this.

2) Turiya, also known as a gardening hoe, is used to collect large volumes of loosened sediment into buckets for removal. The turiya is also handy for hacking at weeds to clear and prepare areas for excavation. This implement is a clean-up tool and should not be used to excavate; if the turiya is used to dig like a pick, it is likely to damage finds with its long, flat edge unlike the pick, which has a smaller, sharper edge. II. Equipment for detail work: 2

1) The archaeologists most quintessential, multifunctional and useful tool is the trowel. This tool is used to create flat, sharp edges and profiles and as an instrument to clear small amounts of sediment into dustpans for removal. Trowels are precision instruments whose long side edges and sharp point can be used for delicate work, such as exposing and articulating features, scraping, sharpening and flattening vertical and horizontal surfaces, and tracing sediment changes. 2) The patiche, or hand-pick, is a small pick that is light but very effective at straightening and leveling vertical and horizontal surfaces and articulating architectural features. Patiches are particularly useful for cutting sections and creating sharp 90 degree corners of baulks. Like a large pick-axe, the patiche has a long handle and triangular head with sharp point at the front and longer flat edge at the back.

JVRP 2011 team members Rob and Todd using patiches to articulate the face of a wall.

3) The masonry trowel is another small tool used to clean, straighten, and flatten vertical sections, working from the top down. The four straight, flat edges of this tool are sturdy surfaces that create sharp angles and provide good leverage when working on baulks. 4) Other small tools for detail work include the square-and-leaf and dental tools, used to articulate delicate finds. These tools are used infrequently but are especially useful when exposing in situ vessels as well as bones, including burials. 5) Screens, or sives, are used to sift sediment in small batches to collect artifacts, bones, and lithics that might otherwise be missed in the normal course and pace of digging. Sives can be set up to be used by one person or two people. Dirt is deposited in the screen in half-bucket volumes and then the screen is shaken to sift the dirt through the mesh or the sediment is distributed across the screen by hand. Clumps of sediment should be broken up by hand when dry sifting. It

is very important to separate dirt buckets and keep careful track of collecting and labeling of finds, especially if sediment from more than one locus is being sifted.

JVRP 2012 team members Stephanie and David sifting for finds.

III. Equipment for cleaning: 1) Soft brushes are used to clear dry, loose soil when cleaning up at the end of the day and before photos. It is essential to keep excavation areas clean and tidy at all times. Soft brushes should be used with short, quick strokes to clean the dirt of loose sediment and footprints and make archaeological contexts clear and readable. These brushes work well only on dry sediment and will get ruined very quickly if used on moist sediment or if used habitually to collect excavated soil into dustpans or dirt buckets (you have trowels for this!). Soft brushes can also be used to brush excess dirt and dust from architecture and to clean the vertical surfaces of sections before illustrations and photos. Like any other archaeological tool, brushes should be used systematically, starting from one end of the square and working in strips so as not to step on areas that have already been brushed. 2) Hard brushes are also known as digging brushes and have thick, rough black bristles. These brushes are used primarily to clear dirt from between courses of architecture, such as when dismantling a wall or articulating stone architecture. These hard brushes are not to be used otherwise to clean up sediment during normal cleaning and should never be used on mudbrick architecture.