My trowel snapped clean in half on a dig site last month | Archaeology Discoveries

Jenny Sullivan · 2026-03-11T08:45:05.778724+00:00

I was working on a volunteer dig near Tucson, carefully scraping away at a layer when I felt a sharp crack. My trusty Marshalltown trowel, which I've had for five years, broke right at the neck. It left me holding a useless handle while the blade stayed stuck in the dirt. I had to borrow a spare from the site supervisor for the rest of the day. Has anyone else had a favorite tool fail at a really bad moment?

christophermurphy6mo ago

Come on, it's just a broken trowel.

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the_brian7mo ago

Tbh, that trowel picked the worst time to retire.

3

grace527mo ago

That's the worst feeling when a tool gives out mid-job! Always pack a backup trowel in your kit, even a cheap one from the hardware store. It saves the day when your main one fails.

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