Found a weird way to get a stubborn artifact out of a test pit

We were digging a small test pit in a field near Boise last fall and hit a piece of pottery stuck in the clay. It was really wedged in there and we didn't want to break it. After trying brushes and dental picks for an hour, I remembered a trick from an old professor. I used a cheap plastic syringe from a hardware store to slowly inject water around the edges. It softened the clay just enough that I could wiggle it free with a bamboo skewer after about 15 minutes. The piece came out whole, a small rim sherd from maybe the 1920s. Has anyone else tried something that silly that actually worked?

3 comments

3 Comments

williams.sage1mo ago

It's like how the simplest fix is often the one you overlook at first.

joel_clark371mo ago

Nah, I gotta disagree. Honestly, the simple fix is usually the first thing people try and it just wastes time. They spend ages on the obvious stuff before finding the real, weird problem. Calling it overlooked is giving too much credit.

jessica1301mo ago

Yeah, my friend had a similar thing with a metal button in really hard dirt. She ended up using a tiny bit of vinegar from her lunch in a dropper to loosen the crust around it. Took forever, but it worked without hurting the button. I mean, it sounds kinda dumb but sometimes the weird kitchen-sink stuff is all you've got.