Just realized my site grid system was wrecking context for a Roman villa dig

A grad student at a conference in Boston told me my 5x5 meter squares were cutting right through a key wall foundation. She said, 'You're treating every unit like a separate puzzle piece.' I switched to open area excavation for that sector, exposing the full floor plan in two weeks. Anyone else had to ditch a rigid method after it messed with the big picture?

4 comments

4 Comments

michaelgrant5d ago

Totally been there man. I was digging a colonial site in Maryland, using 2x2 meter squares like clockwork, and kept finding weird partial postholes that made zero sense. Drove me nuts for a whole season. Finally I just said screw it and opened up a 10x10 meter area all at once, and bam, we found the outline of a whole round barn that the grid had been chopping into meaningless bits. Felt like an idiot for not trusting the dirt sooner.

jessej232mo ago

Ever think our grids say more about modern efficiency than ancient reality? That student was right, you were digging a filing system, not a home. Sometimes you gotta let the site tell you how it wants to be dug.

felix4142mo agoMost Upvoted

Can't we just do both, like Eva said?

evahenderson2mo ago

Look, grids give you control and clear data. That open area stuff can turn into a huge mess real fast, and then how do you even record where things came from? You need that structure to keep everything straight, or you're just making a bigger puzzle with no edge pieces. Honestly, that student got lucky with one wall, but a solid grid system saves you from way bigger problems later on.