As part of our work in the field we sometimes take bulk soil samples from the fills of archaeological features which have the potential to contain environmental material. This environmental evidence usually comes in the form of charcoal, charred cereal grains, or other charred plant remains which informs us what people may have been growing and foraging as part of their diets. Sometimes, we may also use this material to acquire radiocarbon dates for features.
Usually, most of the artefacts that we find are discovered on site when features are excavated. However, every now and again one or two end up within an environmental sample and are then recovered later on during environmental sample sieving.