The Trowel Journal: Building a Community Through Writing

Starting a blog felt like opening my field notebook to the world. I launched Trowel Journal in October 2023, driven by conversations that kept happening at conferences, in cafés after site visits, and during those late-night moments when illustration work sparked broader questions about archaeological practice and communication.

Too often, the most interesting discussions about archaeology happen in corridors rather than publications. I wanted to create space for the messy, evolving thoughts that precede polished papers—the questions that emerge whilst processing finds, the techniques that develop through trial and error, the connections between archaeological work and broader contemporary concerns.

Finding My Voice

Writing regularly forces clarity in ways that occasional academic papers don't. When you commit to sharing thoughts weekly, you develop honesty about what you actually understand versus what you think you should know. This vulnerability proved essential for connecting with readers who face similar uncertainties.

Early posts explored practical topics—digital illustration workflows, field documentation techniques, approaches to public engagement. I wrote about mistakes as often as successes, sharing the unglamorous problem-solving that characterises most archaeological work. Readers responded positively to this honesty, commenting that most professional writing omits the actual learning process.

The blog's structure evolved organically. I chose Markdown for its simplicity and portability, appreciating how the format encouraged focus on content over complicated formatting. This technical choice reflected broader philosophical commitments to accessibility and straightforward communication.

Developing Content Themes

Certain topics generated sustained reader interest, shaping the blog's direction. Posts about illustration techniques attracted both archaeologists seeking visual communication skills and artists curious about scientific accuracy requirements. These cross-disciplinary conversations proved particularly rewarding.

Digital archaeology tools sparked lively discussions, especially posts comparing different software approaches or documenting workflow experiments. Readers shared their own solutions, creating collaborative resource development that individual blog posts couldn't achieve alone. Comment sections became valuable information exchanges.

Science communication posts addressed questions many archaeologists face but rarely discuss openly: How do you explain complex research to diverse audiences? When does simplification become misrepresentation? How do you maintain scholarly integrity whilst engaging public curiosity? These posts attracted readers beyond archaeology, including educators and museum professionals.

Building Community

The blog's most unexpected success involved creating connections between readers. Comments revealed people working on similar problems in different contexts—a bioarchaeologist in Canada developing illustration techniques, a museum educator in Germany exploring digital storytelling, a student in Australia documenting experimental archaeology projects.

I began highlighting reader contributions, featuring guest perspectives and collaborative explorations of shared challenges. These partnerships enriched content whilst demonstrating archaeology's collaborative nature. The blog became less about my individual insights and more about fostering productive conversations across professional boundaries.

Social media amplification extended these discussions, with posts generating responses on platforms from Twitter to LinkedIn. The cross-platform conversations often lasted weeks, evolving through multiple formats and involving participants who might never encounter each other otherwise.

Technical Evolution

Managing growing content required systematic approaches to organisation and discoverability. I developed tagging systems that balanced detailed categorisation with browsing simplicity, ensuring both specialist searchers and casual browsers could navigate effectively.

The Markdown structure proved prescient as content volume increased. Writing in plain text with minimal formatting kept focus on ideas rather than presentation, whilst enabling easy migration between platforms if necessary. This technical flexibility supported creative flexibility.

Integration with archaeological databases and reference management systems streamlined citation and fact-checking processes. These backend improvements remained invisible to readers but enabled more rigorous content development and maintenance.

Measuring Impact

Blog analytics revealed unexpected reading patterns. Detailed technical posts attracted sustained attention over months, whilst broader reflective pieces generated immediate discussion that quickly moved to social media. Both patterns proved valuable for different purposes.

Professional colleagues began referencing blog posts in conference presentations and course materials, suggesting the content filled genuine gaps in accessible archaeological communication. Several universities included posts in reading lists, indicating academic acceptance of this informal publication format.

International readership patterns surprised me, with significant audiences in regions where English-language archaeological resources remain limited. This global reach reinforced my commitment to clear, jargon-free writing that could serve diverse professional contexts.

Ongoing Development

The blog continues evolving as my understanding of archaeological communication deepens. Recent posts explore connections between digital tools and traditional fieldwork methods, examine representation issues in archaeological illustration, and document collaborative projects with heritage organisations.

Future directions include multimedia integration—embedded videos demonstrating techniques, interactive elements for complex diagrams, and podcast-style discussions with guest contributors. These enhancements aim to preserve the blog's core accessibility whilst expanding communicative possibilities.

Reflection on Process

Maintaining regular publication schedules alongside project work requires discipline, but the benefits extend beyond audience building. Writing forces articulation of half-formed ideas, clarifying thinking and revealing knowledge gaps that might otherwise remain hidden.

The blog also provides professional development opportunities that traditional academic publishing doesn't offer. Rapid publication cycles enable real-time sharing of developing techniques, whilst reader feedback helps refine approaches before formal publication.

Most importantly, Trowel Journal demonstrates that archaeological knowledge deserves broad sharing through diverse formats. Our field's insights remain valuable only when effectively communicated, and blogs offer one pathway for extending that communication beyond conventional academic boundaries.

Platform: Custom-built with Markdown content management Publication frequency: Weekly posts since October 2023 Reader community: International archaeology, illustration, and science communication professionals Content focus: Practical techniques, digital tools, science communication, collaborative projects