Phenomenal piece! You captured how I feel almost exactly, although I hadn't given it any focussed thought before reading this. Good writing. I wanted to be an archeologist when I was a boy. I also lost a piece, although it was only a morning's work. I wrote about it here: https://ryanwinfield.substack.com/p/the-edges-of-the-day?r=b6ynm&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web