Supplies needed to create layers:

• Shoeboxes, numbered and with one side labeled left or west   

• A separate set of small boxes or other containers for the discarded dirt

• Sand, not too fine and dusty (only to be used for a bottom layer, since it is so loose) 

• Potting soils, ideally of different textures and colors, and not too fine (choose soils of a uniform consistency to make it easy to spot artifacts)

• Colored sugar crystals or bird seed 

• Oregano, sesame, coffee, or other additives with a distinctive odor 

• A selected number of artifacts for each layer (for example, 3 green beads, 3 plastic fish, and so on, for a total of 15 in each layer) 

• Sugar cubes, clay, or plastic building blocks to create features (if desired)   

• Plastic sheets or tablecloths to work on 

Supplies needed for excavation:

• Shallow spoons or painters’ palette knives (excavation tools) 

• Small plastic bags to hold the artifacts from each layer 

• Waterproof black markers to label the bags 

• Pencils 

• Rulers

•  Small brushes 

• Clipboards as needed

• Artifacts and/or laminated images of artifacts 

 A top plan for each layer: a sheet of graph paper with a square or rectangle drawn on it to represent the excavation square is fine

• Record sheets, requiring just a list of artifacts found in each layer (simple version), or a description and sketch of each artifact (more complex version).  

It is best to create the digs in an outdoor space where the boxes will be excavated, or on protected tables indoors. In preparing the shoebox digs, the Scouter will need to acquire a sturdy box for every four or five Cubs and bags for the finds from each layer. There must be a dumping box (or separate small boxes) for the dirt being excavated. Each dig will contain layers composed of sand or dirt, possibly mixed with colored sugar crystals, birdseed, or other ingredients to create different colors and textures and help students recognize changes.  Once all the boxes, dirt, and objects have been obtained, the easiest way to proceed is to complete the lowest layer of dirt and artifacts in all boxes in the same way before moving up to the next layer. Each layer should be thick enough (more than an inch deep), or students might dig through it accidentally. The layers should be packed down tightly to resemble the more compact soil of a real dig as closely as possible. This also helps protect fine particles in upper layers from filtering downward. 

The dig should be built around your theme, which may vary depending on the artifacts. These can be inexpensive and include small objects saved up from past activities.

When artifacts are not representative of genuine cultures, they permit students to focus on observation and analysis and help them avoid jumping to conclusions based on cultural cues. Alternatively, teachers of older students may choose to add culturally specific simulated artifacts, replicas, or laminated images of real artifacts to relate the lesson to cultures students are studying in class.  In at least one layer, the teacher should place several related objects near one another, or broken pieces of one object. Small beads can be arranged to create a necklace pattern. A small circle of pebbles with a fragment of charcoal inside it can represent a fire pit. The fragments of a broken artifact can lie where they fell. Associated objects in an archaeological context can tell us much more than a single object by itself. 

The Scouters reminds Cubs that archaeologists do not dig just to “find things,” but rather to understand someone’s culture and way of life. This takes careful digging. On a real excavation, nothing would be removed until it had been drawn, photographed, and recorded. Every dig destroys as it uncovers.  The team needs to know that all members of a dig team are contributing. Whether they are digging or recording, finding artifacts or not, everyone shares in interpreting the puzzle that is the site. 

• Each team and box has 4–5 Cubs (more only if necessary).

• The artifacts from each layer are saved in a labeled plastic bag. 

• With young Cubs the Scouter can helpfully say in advance how many types of artifacts (not the total number) they will find. 

• Older team members or the teacher decide on roles (with older ages, these can be: excavator, top plan draftsperson, artifact recorder, artifact bagger/labeler). The teacher may allow everyone to have a chance to dig.

• Each team receives a top plan and a record sheet for each layer. The age of the students and the time allotted will determine whether this is a simple process or records can be more detailed.

• When everything has been excavated, the teams present and discuss their finds.

• The students answer the teacher’s questions about the artifacts and come to conclusions about the people who lived in the different layers. 

• The teacher tells the story of the site.