Glossary of Dig Terms

balk (bôk), n. the side of an excavation square, a balk retains a vertical record of the strata in the square. After a balk is drawn to scale, it may be excavated.

guf•fa (goµoµf× «), n. a rubber bucket used to remove dirt.

me•ter stick (me× t«r stik), n. a stick in a picture that tells the size of the object. For small objects, such as coins or jewelry, a meter stick marked in one-centimeter sections is used. For larger objects the sections are longer.

pa•tish (p« teµsh×), n. The Hebrew word for hammer—actually, a small pick, especially useful for careful, inch-by-inch chipping away at packed earth.

pick (pik), n. your ordinary garden variety. Used for quick removal of deposits that have been tested and are expected to be archaeologically unremarkable.