Hot take: washing dirt off artifacts with a toothbrush ruined my whole grid

I was working a dig outside Santa Fe last August and used a regular toothbrush to clean a pottery shard. Turns out the bristles were too stiff and scraped off the paint layer that held the dating clues. My supervisor spent 20 minutes trying to piece back the pigment dust. Has anyone else wrecked a find by using the wrong tool?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_zara15d ago

Learned that lesson the hard way on a shell midden in Florida. Switched to using a soft paintbrush and a wooden skewer for the delicate stuff. Works way better for getting dirt off without damaging the surface. Now I keep a set of those little bamboo skewers in my kit for anything that looks painted or fragile.

willow_morgan15d ago

Oh man, wooden skewers are a lifesaver for stuff like that! Just a heads up though, bamboo skewers can actually be a bit harsh too if you're not careful, I've switched to using soft makeup brushes for the really delicate work.