I worked on a dig, chosen as a totally different kind of holiday. What I learned was the value archeologists put on context. I found a lot of animal bones specific to the god of the romano-celtic temple we were working on. I found one that looked like a knee or arm socket (not that I was particularly knowledgeable on animal bones). I put it with the other mud laden bones in an unrelated tray rather than contextual finds trays, only to have an agitated leader shout out "who found this votive vase?" I still didn't recognise myself in that. Eventually he showed everyone in turn & what I saw was a terra-cotta thumb-pot, a religious object and he needed to know where it was found to give it context. The sum total of finds in a given square foot at a given depth says far more than any one single bit of "mud" can. Once dug the far more valuable "context" is lost. The gold coins (I found one only) have value more in their appeal to the public and hence funding - and dating.