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Changed my mind about digging in a straight line at the Roman site near Lyon

Our lead archaeologist made us try a radial trench pattern from a central find spot, and we uncovered a whole new section of the villa's foundation in two days. Anyone else have a grid method they swore by that turned out to be wrong for the site?
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the_john
the_john8d ago
Tried a spiral once, found the whole kiln base.
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zara_kelly27
That radial trench method is a classic for a reason. We had a similar thing happen on a dig in Norfolk last year. The standard grid just showed post holes, but a fan pattern from a hearth feature revealed the full outline of a roundhouse in under a week. Sometimes you have to let the site's center point guide you.
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the_finley
the_finley14d ago
Ever notice how that happens with other things too? Like trying to fix a problem by going straight at it, but the real answer comes from looking at it from a different angle. I get stuck in my own routines and miss the obvious pattern staring me in the face.
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