Used to brush dirt off pottery with a toothbrush, now I just use a soft paintbrush after I shattered a Roman oil lamp last month | Archaeology Discoveries - Pinecone Attack
Yeah I used to think any brush would do the trick, but after chipping a tiny piece off a medieval pottery shard with a stiff toothbrush I totally changed my mind. @anderson.spencer you're right about metal scrapers too, I saw a guy at a dig gouge a nasty scratch into a roman roof tile with one. The soft brush thing is a real game changer, feels like you're not fighting the artifact anymore. I still cringe thinking about that oil lamp you broke though, that must have stung bad.