This week in Trench 4, we put together “Claire’s Ten Commandments”, based on the rules of our awesome TA. Commandment 1 is definitely the most important. It’s a phrase heard constantly during the workday: Don’t pry rocks! In Trench 4, there is no greater sin than violating the First Commandment.
Some background. Trench 4 needed lots of work. It was hugely uneven, covered in roots, and full of large rocks. We spent last week leveling the soil and removing the rocks. At that stage, prying rocks was no big deal. But this week we opened our first locus and that meant a drastic change in our excavation technique. Suddenly, preserving soil layers became key. While before the goal was to remove as much dirt as possible, now we carefully dig down 10 cm (sometimes more if Claire isn’t looking) and note any change in soil. We also can’t remove rocks until all the dirt around them has been cleared and they rest on the ground, completely uncovered. It’s tempting to pry the rocks and get it over with. My trench struggled to leave rocks that last week we would have ripped out with crowbars. But prying rocks may damage or mix soil layers, which is bad. A soil layer tells stories about that particular time period and changes in soil layers can mark shifts on ancient civilizations. Also, a rock that may seem useless on the surface may tie in structurally to the building down below. And so, after much complaining, Trench 4 has learned to articulate rocks instead of prying them. It’s slower but since our goal is to learn as much as possible about the past as possible, our crowbar won’t be seeing much use.