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That archaeologist told me to stop brushing so hard on pottery sherds
Back in 2019 on a dig near Moab, a field supervisor named Carla kept yelling at me to ease up on the pressure when cleaning pottery fragments. I figured I knew better since I had a lighter touch, but after about 3 weeks I cracked a small black-on-white piece right in half. She was totally right that aggressive brushing can ruin surface details, especially on older or sunbaked stuff. Lost a good 4 hours of reconstruction work because of that one mistake. Has anyone else had a pro give them a tip that they ignored at first and later regretted?
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oliviat171mo ago
Four hours of reconstruction work? Ugh.
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sullivan.finley1mo ago
Used to dread it too but honestly those deep cleanings saved my teeth long term. Changed my whole view on it.
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