How reliable are our Italian field surveys really? This article presents the main results of three student-thesis based analyses of data obtained in field survey experiments carried out by the last author in Calabria (southern Italy) in 2014. Two separate experiments were conducted to study the differences between individual field walkers, and the ability of the GIA standard fieldwalking protocol to achieve a representative sample of the surface archaeological record. The analyses confirm and quantify the variability between walkers, as well as some of the survey biases that had already been suspected, and provide arguments for improving surveying practice in the Mediterranean. They also alleviate some concerns with respect to other parameters, such as sherd size.