People In History ~ An Archaeologist At Work

Question 1

2~ How I excavate

Answer 1

To get evidence below the ground, I m it’s excavate. First I survey the site and draw a plan. I get mechanical diggers to take away the topsoil,mid necessary. I dig carefully using a trowel and a shovel as I don’t want to break the objects I find. I use brushes to clear artefacts. I use sieves to sort smaller artefacts. I record my findings by numbering them and storing them in plastic bags. I keep the records in a field-computer. I take photographs of the site and make drawings of the artefacts. I record where I find them. I take the artefacts to a laboratory. I use the skills of scientists to investigate some of the objects such as bones and skulls. I have learnt about the shapes of houses from the post-holes.

Question 2

3~ Dating

Answer 2

I will date the objects by using stratigraphy or carbon dating. In tree-ring dating, I compare timber I find with the records of tree-ring growth in Ireland to work out when the timber was used. Carbon 14 dating is based on the amount of carbon left in living objects after they have died. I will put the artefacts into a museum for display. Here they will be conserved. I have worked on many archaeological sites in Ireland such as before motorways were built or before new buildings were built in Dublin and Cork. This is called rescue archaeology. The work I do helps the growth of the tourist industry in Ireland.

Question 3

1~ Work

Answer 3

I am an archaeologist. My job is to investigate the past through artefacts and buildings. I find sites for excavation. Some of those sites are above ground. Others I find by using ariel photographs, stories from the past, by accident and studying old maps