Afternoon . . . and the Work Continues
 Afternoons
provide some rest and leisure time (an opportunity to do
laundry, write letters, or take a nap). However, at some point
in the afternoon or evening, the Square Supervisor must attend
to the Field Notebook. (Place photo 25.jpg here) He/she looks
over notes from the field that particular day to see if all the
information is recorded clearly and correctly. Also, this is the
time to look for missing information or the time to plan for the
next day’s excavations. At this time, the Square Supervisor
writes daily reports, reports that chronicle the day’s
excavations usually sorted by loci. [
Photo] Once a
week, the Square Supervisor writes a weekly report, using the
daily reports as a guide, recording the excavation progress for
that week. Weekly reports also are sorted by loci. The daily and
weekly report forces the Square Supervisor to consider the
evolution of strata in the square.[
Photo]
 At
some point in mid-afternoon, pottery reading commences. The
Square Supervisor is at the pottery reading table early to
ensure the previous day’s pottery is laid out in an orderly
manner on the table and ready to be read by the pottery experts.
As the experts, date and categorize the pottery pieces (by
type), the Square Supervisor records the “readings” in the Field
Notebook on the Pottery Reading Sheets and on the Locus Sheet
that corresponds with the loci recorded on the Pottery Pail Tag.
This information gives the Square Supervisor some idea of the
dating of loci. For more information on pottery reading and the
significance of pottery in dating strata, see “Pottery from the Ground
Out”.
At the time of pottery reading, other team
members are busy washing the potsherds brought in from the field
that day and then placing them in mesh bags (with the Pottery
Pail Tags) so the sherds can dry. [
Photo] The
pottery will be read the next day. A good Square Supervisor will
help wash pottery if time permits.
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