An evening at the pub

Two men and a woman are at a pub after a long week of work. They chat about how it all went when a random person who sits at the next table strikes up a conversation because he is interested in what they do.

John: It’s been a long week.
Sarah: Tell me about it. I have been excavating that pit since Wednesday.
John: Did you find anything interesting?
Sarah: Nope!
Will: You guys need to start finding stuff because in the lab they are running out of things to do.
Sarah: We will once we get back into digging the graves. What about the other stuff we sent back? There's tons for them to work on.
Will: I don't know, what I heard is that they are running out of stuff to do.
Sarah: That's ridiculous.
John: A new site is starting soon.
Sarah: I heard there is one, yeah. Do we know anything about it?
John: Nope.
Will: I was told it’s a small project at the edge of town. Shouldn’t last more than two weeks. But you turned up some good stuff last time, didn’t you, Sarah?
Sarah: Yes, there were a lot of goods in my feature. It was a lot of work to context and record everything but when I was done it was satisfying.
John: Yes, I saw it. It was great.
Will: You guys are lucky. We are in that clay area with only ditches and pits. They don’t have many finds and they have us dig the furrows too.
Sarah: All of them?
Will: Yeah.
Sarah: We had to do it in a project some years ago. Easy digging but useless. Nothing was deeper than six cm.
Will: I know!
John: Do you guys want anything? I’ll go get another drink.
Will: A Guinness.
Sarah: Any cloudy cider.
John: Ok.

John walks to the counter. Another man is there and he has just ordered four drinks. John orders what he needs.

Person: Hello mate, may I ask what you guys are doing for a living? I see you here every Friday talking about digging and features and I got curious. It’s not construction, is it?
John: No, no. We’re archaeologists.
Person: Oh, wow!
John: It’s interesting.
Person: It’s fascinating! Is there any historical place around here that you are working at?
John: No. We work locally but nothing that’s open to the public.
Person: Oh. Why not? Is it something secret?
John: Not at all. We work where construction takes place and there it can be hazardous for those that aren’t acquainted with construction sites. So it has to be closed to everyone. You know, there’s machines going up and down usually and we dig some deep holes.
Person: Yes, I see. Are you digging anything cool now?
John: Me and the woman are at a cemetery, the other guy’s at another site.
Person: A cemetery. That’s cool! Did you find any gold?
John: We never find any gold.
Person: Oh, why not?
John: There just isn’t any. Who would leave gold here and there?
Person: Yeah, that’s a point.

John is served first because his drinks are faster to be poured by another bartender and after exchanging pleasantries he returns to the table. Some time later the other guy who is sitting at the table next to them turns his chair towards their table.

Person: You’re all archaeologists?
Will: Yes.
Person: I have never met so many. Not even one, haha. Anyway, I’m Martin.
John: I’m John, this is Will and Sarah.
Sarah: Nice to meet you.
Will: You alright?
Martin: At the bar John told me that you don’t find gold.
Sarah: No.
Martin: Why now?
Will: There isn’t any where we dig.
Martin: So they didn’t leave it in what you are digging?
John: No.
Martin: What are you digging?
Sarah: Ditches.
Will: Pits.
Martin: Wow. What do you find?
John: Pottery usually. You know, vessels and sometimes tools made from bone.
Will: Pieces of vessels, small fragments that are thrown away and parts of animal bones.
Martin: I see. Are you digging anything cool right now?
Sarah: John and I are digging at a cemetery.
Martin: That’s so cool. Are you digging skeletons?
Sarah: Yeah.
Martin: Wow. What else?
John: Mainly that and any goods they might have, brooches or beads, sometimes they might have a comb on them or whatever remains of a weapon.
Martin: That’s really cool. Can we see them somewhere?
Will: Probably at a museum once they have been studied.
Martin: Does that take long?
John: It might take some years.
Martin: Why?
Sarah: Specialists have to study what we find, run tests and all that.
Martin: Like what?
Will: Well, we don’t really know how things happen after we find them. We are the field staff. We dig and record.
Martin: What do you mean record?
John: There are pits and ditches usually on sites, or post-holes. We make a one metre slot through a ditch, or dig half of a pit and look at the section. We take the finds and put them in bags according to the fill they come from so that we know what is from when. Then we photograph the section and draw it.
Martin: I see. Is it possible for people to visit a site if they ask?
Sarah: On open days mainly.
John: Yeah. Unless it’s a small project with only us on site, then it could be arranged. maybe.
Martin: Wow.