Sorry if the flair tag is wrong, but as the title suggests, how do archaeologists find fragile items like these without damaging them? At first I thought they would need shovels or heavy equipment to get below the surface, this however seems like a risky method. Do they find the fragments then later piece them together? Do they use tiny tools and those little brushes all the way down to the extraction point?
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They find a site where they think there is artifacts then they pretty much gently hand dig until they find some artifacts. Each shovel of dirt may be thrown on a shaker table to sift out all the soil leaving just the stones and artifacts….as they gently hand dig and uncover more, they will use small hand shovels and paint brushes to gently remove the soil leaving just the artifacts. Its a very tedious process.
They don’t just start digging like you would to build a swimming pool. It’s actually a very tedious process. Often, they carefully scrape very thin layers of soil at a time.
Excavations are done very carefully by trained personnel.
However, they don’t just do out and find a spot and say “We’ll dig here!”
They usually start an excavation at a specific site for a reason. Either it’s their best guess at the location of something long lost (based on other sources of information), or someone happened to find something in that location that made them think there would be more of that kind of stuff there.
A lot of the time, construction reveals something worth investigating. The construction can get shut down while the archaeologists figure out the extent of the historical value of the site.
Or, maybe a hiker discovers a dinosaur bone sticking out of the ground and reports it.
So, when they’re working in an area where they know there are delicate artifacts, yes, they remove the soil very slowly and carefully.
They can also use tools like ground penetrating radar to get a grasp on how deep the stuff they’re looking for is, which lets them know how deep they can go with diggers or shovels before changing their approach.
The digging that is done where you expect to find something is very carefully done. You dig by and with small tools of the type you would use to plant a flower. If the material is soft the right tool might be a brush.
Look at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9pGbpIPU-Y
Realy fragile objects can be removed by you dig around them and removing them with the dirt around them. You might reinforce the dirt with a plaster cast just like with a broken bone. The object is then separated from the dirt in a lab. You do that with a lot of care and the tool will be similar to the one used in dentistry.
Many times someone accidentally digs up an item then calls in the archeologist. Since they have a depth, they know how deep they can expect other items to be from the same age. If it’s roman and 2-6′ deep they scrape off a certain percentage of the material with machines and soft through it before getting other shovels. Since the dirt covering the remains are probably just composted vegetation or wind blown debris it shouldn’t be nearly as hard to excavate as clay soil.
Digging for Britain on bbc is worth the watch. They dig all around and gently move stuff. And sometimes they dig all around and bring it to the lab to do it right
We do sometimes use a backhoe to remove the overburden of dirt to get closer to grave shaft level. Archaeologists monitor the backhoe as it removes shallow levels of dirt to make a trench & we are trained to recognize the changes in soil color & identify features, such as grave shafts. We may take it down several feet with the backhoe & then switch to hand excavation with flat shovels, excavating 1m x 1m units in the trench to locate grave shafts, & screening the removed soil through 1/4 inch wire mesh to catch any artifacts or bone fragments. When we find a grave shaft, it gets an identifying number & we record measurements, soil texture & color, take GPS points, depths based off of our site datum, photos w/ board of site/unit data & N arrow, write descriptive excav notes & make drawings. We proceed with flat shovels until a coffin/coffin hardware is located or bones are found or the soil color changes to darker, coarser texture indicating decomp. Switch to a trowel & dustpan to remove larger quantities of dirt from around the bones but you NEVER trowel bones & it’s bad practice to use use metal, like dental picks. Decomposing bone can be incredibly fragile, esp if the environment is not conducive to good preservation, such as being water-logged or freeze/thaw region or acidic soils. We use softer tools only when removing the soil immediately around bones, as well as any accompanying clothing, grave goods or coffin hardware. For working in close contact with bones, I personally use 2 sizes of bamboo calligraphy pens (just the sharpened wooden pen, no ink ofc) & a wooden spoon & cardboard ramekins & synthetic brushes of several sizes. We work in teams of 2, each person on a lateral side to expose the bones as they lie, without moving or damaging them with tools. I find it’s better to hold tools parallel with the bone surface, as opposed to the point end of a tool going toward the bone, to avoid damage. You work methodically & carefully but as rapidly as is safe, removing all of the soil around the bones until the remains are completely exposed (such cold language but it’s the pro term). Then document completely again, all of the data recording mentioned above. After that, we remove the last bits of soil connecting the bone w/ the ground, very gently lift the bones & place in packaging (artifact bags if in sturdy condition; acid-free tissue paper, foil & bubble wrap if poor preservation) for transport to lab for cleaning & analysis. It takes me 2 days with a solid dig partner to completely expose & lift 1 set of human remains, tho the weather conditions can be a big factor. Once you start tho, it has to be completed as quickly as is safe, because the bones can’t stay exposed to environmental conditions for too long without being damaged.
Sorry for writing so much- nice to actually know an ELI5!😄
Source: am a professional archaeologist with exhumation experience
They often break some. The first ones they come to. Once they realize there are artifacts there, then they “dig” carefully, often using just brushes to avoid damage.
Thank you everyone for your replies! I’ve had a blast learning about this topic. ☺️
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