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Dropped $500 on a 3-day field school at a site near Abilene and got to dig exactly 2 hours
I signed up for this "hands-on excavation experience" run by a private outfit near Abilene, thinking I'd get real trowel time at a late prehistoric site. Turned out 85 people paid the same fee and we spent most of the weekend in a lecture tent while the actual archaeology crew did the digging behind a rope. Two hours with a trowel total, and the rest was PowerPoint and a gift shop, so save your money and volunteer with a local chapter instead. Has anyone found a field program that actually lets you work, or is this just how these pay-to-dig things run now?
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riverdavis2d ago
Ha, I feel this in my soul (and in my empty wallet). I once paid for a "weekend dig" where I spent more time learning to sift dirt than actually touching it, so trust me, you're not alone in this. That 85-person cattle call sounds rough, two hours of trowel time for 500 bucks works out to about $250 an hour, which is more than my dentist charges. The sad truth is a lot of these private outfits are selling a story, not a spot on the crew, and the rope behind the real diggers tells you everything. Your best bet is a local archaeology chapter or a state-run volunteer program, since those are usually free and treat you like a pair of hands instead of a ticket sale.
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