What tools would be used on a dig, and what do they look like?

Dr. dig responds:
Archaeologists use many, many different tools on a dig. What tools they use depend on the object they are excavating and where it is located. Some can be as common as a toothbrush. Others are extremely expensive and sophisticated and can be handled by only by trained specialists.

The basic tools and archaeologist uses is a flat masonry trowel (the kind bricklayers use to spread cement - not the curved sort you would use for planting tulip bulbs) that is used to peel off layers of earth. Small hand-picks help loosen the earth, shovels are used to scoop the earth into wheelbarrows, which wheel the dirt to a dumpsite. Dust pans and brushes are used to sweep up loose soil. A wheelbarrow is used to cart the soil to a dump site. Delicate objects such as skeletons, and other fragile finds, are dug out using smaller tools, such as dental picks and toothbrushes!

Some archaeologists don't dig in the ground, but excavate underwater sites, which require a different set of tools altogether. They have it easy in a way because they don't have to shovel dirt into buckets. Instead they use tools called dredges or airlifts that work like gigantic vacuum cleaners, sucking up samd and loose sediment that coveres artifacts and blowing it out away from the site. Heavy artifacts are lifted to the surface using giant balloons called liftbags. Underwater archaeologists usually wear standard diving gear, which includes a tank of compressed air, an inflatable vest, a weight belt, and a wetsuit. They carry a measuring tape, a special plastic notepad, and a digging tool.

There are tools that archaeologists use so they don't have to excavate a site at all! Some archaeologists discover sites from the air, using aerial photography. Archaeologists also use sophisticated tools and equipment with complicated sounding names like resistivity detectors that can "see" buildings beneath the soil and electron microscopes that help archaeologist see really tiny remains-like grains of pollen- that might be left inside an ancient jug or vessel.

Archaeologists love making new and useful excavating tools from everyday objects. Can you think how an archaeologist might use a spoon or a toothpick?

dig Magazine will have lots of articles about the tools archaeologists use. Get dig and find out more!

Do archaeologists get their tools from a specialty store?

Dr. dig responds:
Archaeologists buy many of their tools wherever they can get them. The basic tools, such as shovels, masonry trowels, hand picks, spirit levels, measuring tapes, and buckets can be purchased at any hardware store anywhere in the world.

More specialized tools, such as a theodolyte and surveying equipment, digital camera, drafting materials and soil charts will have to purchased from different suppliers of scientific equipment.

There are also some archaeological tools that simply have to be invented to suit the needs and circumstances of a particular excavation.