Recovering Artifacts by Waterscreening

Now, remember that soil you saw sitting in the bucket and the tub next to the pit that was being excavated? Let's show you what happens with soil removed from features. Most of this soil (including everything in the tub) is processed through a contraption called a waterscreen. The soil is dumped into the green wooden sluice, then sprayed with hoses and washed through a set of screens, each successive screen having a smaller mesh (the smallest is like window screen). Watch this video to see students waterscreening soil from a feature.

A student is waterscreening soil removed from an archaeological feature.