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Washing
 The tagged and numbered pails containing the morning's pottery finds are brought back to camp around noon when the workday at the site ends and camp work begins. Upon arrival at camp, workers from the sites squares fill each pail with water to allow the sherds to soak during lunch. At this point it is important to make sure that tags on the pails are sturdy, water-resistant, and labeled with permanent ink. Soaking the sherds loosens the encrusted soil so that they will be easier to wash.
Later, in mid-afternoon, everybody participating in the excavation assembles. This is not only a time for practical work, but is also a time to socialize and look over what others have found in their squares at the site during the morning. Using brushes of various sizes, the diggers carefully scrub each sherd. Caution must be taken to examine each sherd carefully before scrubbing. In some cases the ancients used sherds for writing material, known as ostraca (singular, ostracon) to archaeologists. A sherd with any sign of an inscription on it must be removed before washing and taken directly to the head archaeologist, who gives the ostracon special treatment.
 The washed sherds from each pail are then placed in mesh bags to be left overnight to dry. The mesh bags allow air to circulate and the sherds dry quickly in the arid atmosphere of the Middle East. The tag identifying the pottery is carefully tucked inside each bag so that the archaeologists can always identify the number of the pail in which the sherds were originally placed.
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