Counting sherds (and stone vase flakes)

This is probably the most tedious part of the project; data gathering. I have motivated myself with music, food, entertainment, the joy of being on Crete and the pleasure of seeing colleagues. Working at INSTAP in Pacheia Ammos  is a luxury, not only because of the excellent facilities, but mainly for being able to bounce off ideas with other people working alongside you. It makes a stark contrast to the storerooms of rural Museums, where silence prevailed. Being confined to the storeroom for long periods of time convinced me beyond any doubt of the absolute necessity of having a good filing system that would allow you to a) find what you are looking for easily; but also b) make it possible to spot the connections that are not readily apparent. I tried many methods, still experimenting, but the main insights so far have been: a) decide on one (I cannot stress this enough) labelling shorthand for your notes, make a legend and keep the same system through the years (it’s OK to add to it, but do not keep changing it)! and b) serendipity and mice (they’ve eaten all the plastic bags, which meant re-bagging finds, which led to unexpected discoveries !)  have actually led me to find stuff that I could not locate with the usual methods of cross-referencing catalogues and box labels.