Just realized I almost threw away a piece of Roman pottery in a field in Suffolk

I was digging a test pit and the trowel hit what I thought was a weird rock, but my supervisor spotted the curve of the rim before it went in the finds bag. Has anyone else had a close call like that with a small find?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_kai2mo ago

Wow, that's a great save. I used to think you could always tell pottery from a rock, but a muddy field in low light will humble you fast. Really shows why having a second pair of eyes is so important.

walker.max1mo ago

Last spring I was walking a plowed field after a heavy rain. My buddy spotted a weird flat stone that turned out to be a piece of colonial slate roofing. I had walked right past it three times. The color was exactly the same as the wet clay clods. Now I always slow down and scan the same row from two different angles.

barbaraw471mo ago

Tell me about it! I've lost count of how many times I've done the exact same thing. You get in a rhythm walking a row and your brain just filters out anything that looks like the usual dirt and rocks. Changing your angle is so smart, it totally tricks your eyes into seeing the ground fresh again. That moment when someone else points out the thing you missed is equal parts amazing and frustrating!