February 7, 2018 – Digging Archaeological Trenches
Before archaeologists spend time and money excavating an area they always (well, almost always) dig an shallow trench across the area to be studied to see if it’s worth expending the effort for a full scale dig. They carefully plan the excavation and if something of interest is uncovered, they make an informed decision to proceed or abandon the site. This seems obvious to most of us – do some planning and make an informed decision based on research and a little trial and error.
Unfortunately, what seems obvious is really not. As we watch the news lately, particularly when it comes to politics, it seems no one wants to dig archaeological trenches. They would rather go all in and excavate the site, or they would rather not dig the trench because they don’t want to see what’s there. The happy medium of course is to dig the trench, see what might or might not be worth discovering and make that decision. It’s a good life lesson really.
I hope that one day in the not too distant future we can get back to making informed decisions. I also hope that we can get to a point where we aren’t afraid to dig those trenches, regardless of what we find. Have a great evening.