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11th October 2013, 08:49 AM
@Jack - yep bucket of water and a clean cut down shovel works a treat on clay, a stainless steel gardening fork is a good bit of kit as well.
@Tool - ive been on a lot of sites, usually prehistoric, where someone looks at a feature and says 'yes ive seen
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17th October 2013, 02:53 PM
Dinosaur Wrote:...so sampling 'ordinary' ditch fills is generally pointless - you don't know where the stuff originated from or how old it is (unless you have a discrete dump of something interesting). Stick to 'closed' contexts like (most) pits etc. Always think through the formation process before fetching the sample tubs
Very wise. I really wish some curators understood this.
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17th October 2013, 05:19 PM
I get fed up with projects where 90% of the several tons of soil laboriously lugged off site is, at the end of the day, valueless - effort should = results [or is that just me getting old?]
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17th October 2013, 10:49 PM
Dinosaur Wrote:I get fed up with projects where 90% of the several tons of soil laboriously lugged off site is, at the end of the day, valueless - effort should = results [or is that just me getting old?]
Yes...and no (the yes is in answer to your last question
).
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18th October 2013, 11:20 AM
Dinosaur Wrote:I get fed up with projects where 90% of the several tons of soil laboriously lugged off site is, at the end of the day, valueless - effort should = results [or is that just me getting old?]
During evaluations in some counties, we are asked to sample all undated ditches. Why? Subsequent map research shows it to be 18th century and we end up with yet another batch of tubs waiting for the contents to be to be thrown away.
As for the age thing, well I am sure if I looked hard enough I would find in our yard unexamined/unprocessed samples older than my 27 year archaeological career to date.
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18th October 2013, 11:40 AM
that's why all environmental sample processing should be done on site and should be part of site based costs and time even if it means taking water and tanks to site.
Reason: your past is my past
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18th October 2013, 11:52 AM
Unitof1 Wrote:that's why all environmental sample processing should be done on site and should be part of site based costs and time even if it means taking water and tanks to site.
Well, as a very long time lurker here I was not expecting that response.
The costs for environmental sampling should indeed be included in the cost for every job, as should the cost for providing toilet facilities, but I doubt many units lug their own toilets to and from every evaluation.
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18th October 2013, 12:15 PM
Resources dedicated to environmental sampling, once costed in, should be used to gain the maximum return for the money/time/effort in the form of
useful information about the site? - discuss :face-thinks:
You have a yard? - Seedygirl will be green with envy }
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18th October 2013, 01:22 PM
richard cherrington Wrote:.... a stainless steel gardening fork is a good bit of kit as well.
for what pray tell?
If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers
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18th October 2013, 01:27 PM
Sikelgaita Wrote:Subsequent map research shows it to be 18th century and we end up with yet another batch of tubs waiting for the contents to be to be thrown away
call me old fashioned, but, if you do the map work first you might save yourself the latter!
If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers
