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Used to dig with a garden trowel and a sieve from Target, now I use a 4 inch Marshalltown and a screen I built myself
When I first started volunteering on a dig at a site near Tucson about 6 years ago I showed up with a cheap trowel from a hardware store and a kitchen sieve. I thought dirt was dirt, you scoop it and shake it and anything cool falls out. The field director watched me for about 10 minutes and then handed me her worn down 4 inch Marshalltown with a handle held together by duct tape. She said the edge matters more than the scoop, and once I tried hers I got it. My screens were letting small flakes and beads roll right through. So I built a frame out of scrap 2x4s and stapled in 1/8 inch hardware cloth, total cost around $22 at the hardware store. Now I dig in 5 cm levels with the trowel held sideways, scrape instead of stab, and screen every bucket into my own sifter. Found 3 obsidian flakes and a shell bead last season that my old setup would have missed. What screen size do you all run for dry desert sites, 1/8 or 1/16?
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