PSA: The "basket method" for cleaning pottery sherds actually works, stop scrubbing everything

Was spending 15 minutes per sherd trying to get dirt out of crevices on a site near Santa Fe until a field tech told me to just soak them in a bucket of water with a little dish soap for 2 hours and shake it, lol - has anyone else been doing it the hard way?

3 comments

3 Comments

jordan_henderson133d ago

I mean, I get what you're saying but that "basket method" thing really depends on the clay type you're dealing with and what kind of dirt is stuck in there. Like, if you've got that hard-packed caliche clay that's baked onto the sherds, just shaking them in soapy water won't cut it at all. I've had sherds come out of a bucket soak still caked with dirt that needed a soft brush to get off. Maybe it's just me but I'd rather spend a little extra time scrubbing than risk missing something important that's hidden under a layer of dry dirt.

samrodriguez3d ago

Fair point about that caliche clay, that stuff's a nightmare lol. But honestly I've found even with the tough stuff, a really good long soak and some vigorous shaking gets most of it off without needing to brush each piece, saves a ton of time if you're processing a lot of sherds.

jana7693d ago

Four hours soaking in warm soapy water and you're still brushing individual sherds... I mean, is this archaeology or a spa day for old pottery? Seems like a lot of fuss for something that's been sitting in the ground for hundreds of years anyway.