Sometimes when the volunteers come to work at the site they end up asking questions about the quantity of the work they are required to do. By simple observation they often wonder why is it that some people are always walking around with their ipads, measuring tape, paper and pen, cameras and so on. At the same time other people are digging the dirt. Some are moving heavy rocks, some are carrying heavy guffas, some are sifting and some seem to be having a sleep? How can archaeological work be described as hard when there’s people sleeping?

The reason for the sleep is that the work can be so exhausting that any chance of rest must be used fully. In the day, during the dig you never know how things are going to develop. Of course you start with a plan. You have the square you are working on and the designated locus, but until the actual dirt/soil/earth removal you don’t know what lies underneath. That is why it can happen that almost all people are busy, some dig, some sift, some carry the guffas but then you find an object and the work stops. If something is found the exact measurements and the GPS position and photos must be taken before it is taken out of the ground. That are the moments when the person sifting knows he can take a rest, or preferably take a quick nap. You never know how soon the difficult work will resume.