Dear Colleagues,
I hope I've not already asked this a few months ago but I should be meeting up with my home town's community archaeology group over Easter. When I met them to discuss archaeobotany and environmental archaeology with them last Spring they mentioned that their method of excavation would make bulk sampling tricky.
They excavate by getting access to peoples' back gardens and digging test pits. This has proven very interesting in a town where little commercial or research excavation has taken place. They'd like to include environmental sampling but if they bulk sample and bucket float ,as I showed them, they will have sludge to put back into the holes they've dug in the gardens rather than neat, dry spoil.
I've suggested they take column samples up the sides of their test pits. These would give smaller samples but would allow all manner of environmental work to be carried out with fine detail that would be better than no sampling at all.
I was wondering how you'd tackle this problem. Any suggestions on how to sample and not leave soggy dents in people's back gardens after a test pit is backfilled I will pass on to Faversham Society Archaeological Research Group.
Thankyou,
Lisa
(Lisa Gray MSc MA AIfA Freelance Archaeobotanist www.lisagray.co.uk)
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