Question about using a metal trowel on a delicate dig site | Archaeology Discoveries

Lee Thompson · 2026-03-14T10:15:07.741749+00:00

I was working on a Roman mosaic in Pompeii last summer and my supervisor, Dr. Rossi, finally told me to stop using my steel hand trowel for the fine detail work. I'd been scraping away with it for months, but she pointed out the tiny scratches I was leaving on the tesserae that I couldn't even see without her loupe. Has anyone else had to completely switch up their main tool for a specific material?

bailey.sam7mo ago

My trowel has definitely made some "personal marks" too lol.

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kai_west6mo ago

My old archaeology professor made us use bamboo skewers for cleaning around bone. You can get a pack of a hundred for a few bucks and just snap off the sharp tip as it wears down. It's way softer than the tile and you won't leave any marks.

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taylor.mary7mo ago

Oh man, I've definitely been that guy with the trowel.

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