Pro tip: Picking between a trowel and a shovel for that dig site near my creek

Last Saturday I was out at this small creek bed in rural Iowa deciding whether to use a masonry trowel or a full shovel for a spot where I spotted some pottery shards. I went with the trowel thinking it'd be more precise, but I ended up missing a whole layer of charcoal because I was scraping too shallow. The shovel would've let me cut a cleaner profile faster, and now I'm kicking myself. Has anyone else had a tool choice totally mess up their sampling at a wet site?

2 comments

2 Comments

kim.hannah7d ago

Yeah that "missed a whole layer of charcoal" bit hit home. I've learned the hard way that wet sites need a wider cut right away or you lose those dark soil bands. Stick with a sharp flat shovel for the first pass, then switch to the trowel once you've got a clean face to scrape.

rayc837d ago

Oh man, that's exactly what I've been through too lol. I used a trowel at a wet creek site last spring and spent hours scraping away, only to realize later I'd completely missed a thick charcoal line because I was going too gentle. A shovel's wider bite is way better for catching those abrupt changes in the soil, especially when everything's soggy and dark already. Once you've got that big cut open, then you can go in with the trowel for the fine details without worrying you're missing the big picture. It's like you gotta see the whole layer before you pick at it, you know?