What equipment do you need for a dig? Isabel (9)

Hi Isabel, thank you for your question and a Happy New Year!

There are loads of different pieces of equipment that an archaeologist might need!

If we go to the very start of the dig, we are going to need a machine, something like a JCB, to dig our trench. We would then need some fencing to make sure no passers-by fall in to our trench!

Our archaeologist is going to need a mattock and shovel or spade to dig the bigger archaeological features. They will also need a trowel for cleaning up and for more detailed work. For even more fiddly work, such as digging up delicate remains like skeletons, our archaeologist might use small leaf-shaped trowels, brushes and perhaps small tools like those used by your dentist to clean between your teeth!

Once our archaeologist has finished digging, they are going to have to record what they have done. They will need a 6H pencil, a special type of waterproof tracing paper called permatrace, a drawing board, hand tapes, a string-line, a line level, and six-inch nails to make a drawn record. They will need pens and recording forms to make a written record, and then a camera to photograph the feature. Then, when all the written records are complete, our archaeologist may survey the trench and archaeological remains using a GPS or perhaps a Total Station.

So it all depends on where in the process our archaeologist starts, but I would say that every archaeologist should have a tool kit that includes a 4 inch trowel, a leaf trowel, a 5m hand tape, a 30m tape, string, nails, a line level, pens and pencils.

So now you know what to ask for next Christmas!

All the best,

Phil