That guy at the dig site who kept calling everything 'post-medieval'

Working a site outside Chester last summer. We pull up this dark patch, clearly a hearth. Guy from the local society walks over, barely looks, says "oh that's just post-medieval disturbance." Didn't even kneel. I asked him what he based that on. He just shrugged and walked off. How do you get that confident from thirty feet away? Anyone else deal with know-it-alls who won't get their hands dirty?

3 comments

3 Comments

william_jackson6523d ago

You've had run-ins with that type before? Your best bet is to just ignore them and focus on the work. I've been digging for years and the loudest talkers are always the ones who never get their boots muddy. Next time, just ask them to point out the specific soil change or feature boundary from where they're standing. If they can't, you know they're full of it. Keep recording your own observations in the trench sheet and don't let them mess with your judgment.

wrenh6522d ago

Funny you mention that, honestly. I was just reading an article from a geoarchaeology blog about how experienced excavators can spot a fake expert just by watching how they handle a trowel. People who actually dig have this rhythm, like they're listening to the ground. The kind of armchair experts he's talking about usually freeze up if you ask them to describe the exact color and texture of the topsoil vs subsoil contact line. Ngl, that method of asking them to point out the specific soil change is gold. It's how you separate someone who's read about archaeology from someone who's lived in the dirt.

grant.nina12d ago

You ever watch someone try to fake it and just cringe? I had a buddy who went on a dig in New Mexico, and this guy showed up all excited, talking about "cultural layers" and "midden analysis." First day on site, the supervisor handed him a trowel and asked him to scrape a tiny patch clean. The guy held it like a butter knife and started digging straight down like he was planting a flower. My friend said the supervisor just stood there, watched for ten seconds, then took the trowel back and said "you're on sifting duty." He didn't last the week. The soil contact line trick is real, I've seen it work on people who talk big but can't tell the difference between clay and silt in the field.