Warning: I was cleaning a ceramic piece from a dig site all wrong for years

I was working on a pot from a site near Tucson, gently brushing it with a soft brush like always. A visiting expert saw me and said, 'You're using that on the residue? That's just pushing dirt into the pores.' He showed me how to use a damp cotton swab in a tiny circular motion instead. I had been damaging the surface detail without even knowing. Has anyone else had a basic field lab technique they were doing wrong?

3 comments

3 Comments

oscarc531mo ago

Yeah, that's a real gut punch to find out.

the_stella1mo ago

Right? How do you even come back from that?

christopherwilson1mo agoMost Upvoted

You don't. That's the kind of thing that just sits with you.