Had a total site grid failure at the Bronze Age settlement dig in County Kerry last month. The rain turned our perfectly marked squares into a mud soup.

We were three days into excavating a potential hearth feature when a storm rolled in overnight. Came back to find half our string lines sagging or washed away, and the section drawings were soaked. My supervisor just said 'start over, it's archaeology.' Took two of us a full day to re-establish the grid with new pins and a laser level. Anyone else had a survey just get completely wrecked by weather?

3 comments

3 Comments

barnes.ivan13d ago

That's just part of the job, honestly (the mud, I mean). A good grid setup should survive a decent rain if the pins are deep enough. Maybe try using longer survey nails next time?

shane_morgan13d ago

Oh, but the pins can still get pulled in deep mud.

green.laura13d ago

Yeah, a good setup should hold. Deep mud just means you need to check your pins more often.