Meticulous care directed by common sense along the lines laid down by past experience, that is the essence of good digging; yet the ideal man to have charge of an excavation would be a very versatile person.

He should be very patient, able to hold in check any natural human desire for undue haste to seize his spoil until his sober judgment tells him that the right moment has come. He should have the power of smooth organisation; and the power of delegating to others, which does not mean going away and letting the others do his work.

He should have a good power of judging the value of evidence, and enough strength of mind to give it its full weight, even when it tells against his most cherished theory; indeed he should be able to divest his mind of all theory while engaged in extracting the facts from his evidence.

He should have enough power over words to write concisely a rigidly accurate yet lucid report.

He should have a vigorous faith, and perseverance enough to carry on a while after his faith is dead.

He should have that touch of imagination that will often illuminate the true meaning of his facts, and in an archaeologist is genius.

He should be well versed in the practical side of his work, which implies skill in a good many directions, though here I have only put down the most obvious.