Pro tip: the $60 trowel I bought at a dig in Abilene, Texas finally paid off

Mia Moore · 2026-09-11T15:05:03.333467+00:00

I used to dig with a cheap garden trowel from the hardware store and kept nicking pottery sherds at a site outside Abilene last spring. Then I spent $60 on a proper Marshalltown pointing trowel with a wooden handle, and it honestly saved me from ruining a nearly intact bowl rim last month. The blade is thin enough that you can feel the difference in the soil before you hit anything hard. Has anyone else found that a single piece of gear changed how careful they could be in the field?

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Pro tip: the $60 trowel I bought at a dig in Abilene, Texas finally paid off | Archaeology Discoveries - Librear