People in history: an archaeologist working on a

dig
I am an archaeologist. My job is to dig for
artefacts to find out about the lives of pre-
historic people.
We choose where to dig for various
reasons, using evidence from various sources.
These sources include old ruins, shipwrecks, old
maps or documents, aerial photographs, folklore,
scientific analysis, artefacts and sites found by
chance. Once we have chosen the site, the
excavation can take place.
Before the excavation, we must survey the
site and make up plans. Diggers then remove the
top layer of soil to make it easier for us to dig.
The dug area is marked into a grid of squares so
that we can keep track of what is found and
where. Having dug with shovels for a short time,
we then begin to dig more carefully suing
trowels, brushes and sieves. We keep a very
careful record of the artefacts found. Each
artefact is numbered and stored in separate bags.
The artefacts are then catalogued by number on
the site book or field computer. Photographs and
drawings are done of artefacts. The artefacts are
then sent to a laboratory for dating.
There are various methods used to date an
artefact. These include stratigraphy (dating using
the different layers of the ground), coins and
pottery (Pottery tends to vary in style depending
on which time frame it came from. Coins tend to
have a year on them, or else an image of the
king or queen in power at the time),
dendrochronology (tree-ring dating), radiocarbon
dating (during its lifetime, an object acquires
much carbon. When it dies, it slowly loses this
carbon. Therefore, the more carbon present, the
more recent the artefact), bones, plants and
pollen grains.