Floods, erosion through wind and water, sunshine, tectonic activity, vulcanism and much else besides are factors that influence what we are able to recover about the historical, geological and archaeological past. The traces of entire ancient civilisations may be beyond our discovery, even with improved technology. There is even speculation, without any supporting evidence of course, that an advanced civilisation could have emerged on Earth in the past, become extinct, but remains outside our capacity to detect by virtue of the vast amounts of time involved and the changes wrought by erosion and tectonics.

So twenty of thirty years is less than an eye-blink given the age of the Earth. Still those same erosive elements can turn up artefacts of earlier lives, however contemporary. And so it was with the most recent extended rainfall and flooding. 

My garden can become a floodplain and quagmire in one, given the right conditions. The water hurtling down the lower-side fence is a sight to behold and quite extraordinary, really. While clearing a leaf blockage in the rain the other day, up popped a dog bone, a relic of my dearly beloved dog, Ruth. She had obviously chewed the best out of it and then buried it amongst the boundary trees. She is long gone but this bone was a precious reminder of our time together.

More precious to me, than unearthing another Rosetta Stone.