What is the best method to start a dig site?

[rokhedred]

twoshovel wrote:

heather when i dig its always with the intent to fill the hole before i leave, i dig my hole about three foot by three foot get in and dig out 6 or 8' moveing the sand behind me turn and dig back to the pile, once i took a kids rocking horse it was one of those with the springs to hold the horse, replaced it with a box screen put a stop on one side of the frame, each throw of sand moved it away from me and the springs pulled it back to bang into the stop worked pretty good just had to clean the roots out now and then, oh ya NO TUNNELS! we don't want to lose you to a cave in,,,,twoshovel

  Man, that rocking horse frame is an AWESOME idea!! And NO on the tunnels...tunnels are bad, mkay. =)

[rokhedred]

Hoss wrote:

A pro would take it down no mater how large your grid is but take it down evenly you would want it to look like the floor of a living area so you can picture what happened and where. It is painstaking work. Inch by inch. Each inch of soil here in CT is considered 400 years. There are variables to that calculation like if your at the base of a hill where plant matter would accumulate or in a flood plane where sediments would either wash out or accumulate and add to the depth on soils.
There by three is fine I have dug on sites that were disturbed soils and just set my screen behind me so as I worked forward my hole would back fill behind me. I have not dug since the 80's or I would take you up on that visit. LOL Good luck with your project. If you need a good screen they can be made easily or purchased here is a site that sells them. You can make these from number six pine in 1X4 with 2X4 legs and some 1/4" or 3/8" mesh galvanized Hardware cloth.
I used to make my own.
Hoss

  Thanks for the layer info! I'm going to be as careful as I can. Trying to be very selective on who I chose to help me dig. I also appreciate the info on building a screen. If you ever change your mind on digging, give me a heads up!

[gwyndolynn]

I make my own screens, 1/4" and if you are going to dig scientifically, there is a process that is very tedious. When I go with the COBALT team from our museum, they start in a corner once theyve decided a spot. they then document flint pieces-(though one of them told me that flint is not actually in the united states, that its france, and chert is what it should be called at all times-though i have not looked into that), bone, shell (very important if not in the river or body of water) and they dig until they hit clay or kaliche(sp?) and then stop and move in a North-east direction i believe. At each find of a tool, or point, or concentration of chips, they measure the depth, note soil changes, etc. The good thing and the bad thing about this for me, is that now I understand documentation is important to Texas historical and native culture and I am amazed at how little we actually know and have documentation of! The books written on Texas artifacts are solely based on what has been documented. There are not too many to choose from. The older gentlemen that I volunteer with are not as interested in the artifacts themselves, as they are about identifying and documenting the culture. Though they still love to see what has been found without documentation. I wish i had started documentation a lot earlier...Some times too much knowledge hinders the joy of the hunt...the one time i will say this not being sarcastic....Ignorance IS bliss! The other times I reference this quote is when Im talking about ingnorant people seem much happier in life....