The picture above is the kit we use as diggers at Vindolanda. Let's see if I can explain this in some semblance of an order. From left to right (or as close as possible): Shovel-great for getting rid of the loose soil in the unit; Scoop-smaller version of the shovel and used mostly when troweling the unit floor and getting rid of the loose soil; Brush-used to clean a unit floor or stones in the floor; Bucket-used often when troweling or in a position more than a shovel toss away from your wheelbarrow and that would include being a number of feet down into the ground too. If you can't reach your wheelbarrow, then the bucket is best; trowel-used to scrape around stones, define floor surfaces, pick between cobbles-basically a jack of all trades type of tool. Most volunteers bring their own. Archaeologists and volunteers can get trowel envy- the more used the trowel the better you MUST be! Kneeling Pad- used by most volunteers who can't squat for hours on end troweling floors or picking around cobbles. I definitely have the Rolls Royce of kneeling pads (thanks Sara and Greg); Spade-multi-purpose use. Most often used to square trench or unit sides, peel off slight floor layers, and get up loose soil when trying to be precise; Mattock-used to get through topsoil and as a larger trowel just scraping the surface of the unit floor. The mattock is often better than a trowel for doing a whole unit floor in a quicker time; wheelbarrow-well without this there would be no volunteers. I don't know too many people who would want to create bucket brigades for soil removal!
There you have it. The digger's kit in a nutshell. All the basic tools needed to dig at Vindolanda.
2 comments:
If you click on the digger's kit photo to blow it up, then look beyond the shed into the fields, see those white specks - those are sheep! In Northumberland you see a lot of sheep! Matt have you seen any cute lambs on your hikes?
Plenty of lambs to see. The farming in this part of northumberland is all pasture and grazing. No one does any plowing anymore. The sheep have looked a bit wet, bedraggled, and dirty as of late.
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