The Part Movies Don’t Show
The day doesn’t start with digging; it begins with planning. Before anyone touches a shovel, the crew leads look at their tract lists for the day. Sometimes they choose to tackle a big one early and get it over with; other days, they’ll knock out the small ones first and save the rough terrain for later.
The project managers hand down these lists, and the goal is to clear them daily, but the field rarely cares about schedules. Difficult terrain, unforeseen access issues, or weather can slow everything down, and every so often, the opposite occurs: everything finishes early, and crews start calling around asking who needs help.
Planning / Maps / Logistics
Once the trucks roll out, the real work begins. Most of the day is really travel and hiking. Think about averaging 3-6 miles a day on foot across pastures, forests, pipeline corridors, cleared ROWs, or whatever the project throws at you. Field Maps guides crews to the PRA boundaries and locations where shovel tests (STPs) need to go.
On easy days, trucks can get us very close. On others, terrain blocks us, gates are locked, or “roads” aren’t really roads. Then it becomes a hike, sometimes one to two kilometers, just to reach the first shovel test.
Shovel Tests / Stratigraphy / Soil
Shovel tests in most Texas projects are expected to reach around 80 centimeters, but the soil and context dictate the final call. If the PRA sits within a previous pipeline corridor or we hit sterile subsoil, we can terminate the test early as long as it’s documented. Some areas require auguring/deep testing, and those can go down two meters.
Every shovel test records stratigraphy or soil layers, depth, location data, vegetation in the area, and, if you get lucky, artifacts found in your test. Photos are taken for the PRA at the beginning and end, and at least one shovel test per PRA, if willing, must be shown going to depth.
If a test is terminated early because of water table, sterile subsoil, or an impassable layer of rock or roots, that gets documented, too.
Field Bag
If you’re interested in trying CRM style surveys yourself, check out our Starter Kit.
A field bag is pretty simple: A trowel, a compass, a notebook, munsell booklet, a tape measure in centimeters (the big bosses like metric), gloves, a portable charger, and whatever snacks/drinks resilient enough to survive Texas heat and punishment.
Archaeologists debate gear the way mechanics debate tools; everyone has their favorites, and everyone swears by their setup. Field bags are personal. There is no “standard issue” in CRM. Everyone builds their setup over time, the trowel they sharpen a certain way, the notebook that doesn’t fall apart, the compass they trust, and the tape measure that’s a specific size. Gear becomes identity out here.
Crew Communication / Compliance
Hiking and shovel testing can be oddly relaxing with a speaker going. Speakers and headphones are common as long as we can still hear each other yell. Headphones in both ears are discouraged for safety; communication is constant, and gunshots aren’t unheard of in rural areas. In places with no cell service, crews switch to walkie-talkies.
Most of what we do is Cultural Resource Management (CRM) archaeology, compliance work that happens before development moves forward. Here in Texas, most projects are pipeline-related, so PRAs can span agricultural fields, forested properties, wetlands, and sometimes coastal stretches. The landscapes change quickly, and so do the logistics.
Paperwork / End of Day / ArcGIS
The field may end in the truck, but the day doesn’t end until the paperwork is done. Back at the hotel, crews fill out PRA forms, DPRs, upload photos, submit forms through ArcGIS, and make sure the digital record catches up to the physical one. Only then, when the crew lead says you’re good, are we officially released and free to head to our rooms, shower, eat, and try to recover before the next morning.
Most crews work six days a week, weather permitting, with Sundays off. Rotations are usually two weeks on, one week off. We usually start around 5:30 – 7 in the morning, depending on the weather and workload. Heat dictates start times in summer, safety dictates departure times, and gas stations are a favored stop for one reason above all others: bathrooms.