I was brushing off pottery shards for years before a dig in Cyprus changed my mind

I always thought cleaning finds with a stiff brush was the right first step, but a senior archaeologist on site saw me doing it and said, 'You're scrubbing away the micro-residue we need for analysis.' Now I use a soft brush and distilled water for the initial clean. Has anyone else had a basic field method they had to unlearn?

3 comments

3 Comments

mason_craig3428d ago

Yeah, but isn't distilled water a bit risky for some materials? I was told it can leach salts out.

matthewgonzalez28d ago

Remember my buddy's old pipes?

grant82620d ago

Yeah, the part about leaching salts is real. I saw a forum post from a plumber who said distilled water can pull stuff out of old solder and brass if it sits in the pipes too long. He said it's mostly a worry for systems that sit unused for weeks.