Marshalltown trowel

{{Short description|Implement used for archaeology and bricklaying}}

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File:Hardware merchandising August-October 1912 (1912) (14782261274).jpg

The Marshalltown trowel is an excavation implement frequently used by archaeologists and bricklayers.

Manufactured by the Marshalltown Company of Marshalltown, Iowa, the trowel was first introduced in the 1890s.{{Cite web |last=Lynch |first=Julie |date=August 8, 2022 |title=ASTM C1670: Seeing a Standard Grow to Maturity – Masonry Magazine |url=https://www.masonrymagazine.com/blog/2022/08/05/astm-c1670-seeing-a-standard-grow-to-maturity/ |access-date=2022-10-31 |website=Masonry Magazine |language=en-US}} A patent filed for its handle by the company on July 12, 1927 was granted on December 23, 1930.{{Cite patent|number=US1786043A|title=Handle for trowels|gdate=1930-12-23|invent1=Troutner|inventor1-first=Jesse B.|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US1786043A/en}}. The Marshalltown trowel is made of a single piece of metal. The 5-inch and 6-inch pointing trowels are most often used for archaeology{{cn|date=April 2025}}. It is larger and more flexible than the WHS trowel{{cn|date=April 2025}} preferred by archaeologists in the United Kingdom, which makes it better for cleaning sections but less suited to digging heavy clay and gravel deposits{{cn|date=April 2025}}. It is also used by bricklayers in the United Kingdom{{cn|date=April 2025}}.