Nine days in and things are only getting more interesting. Units 5, 6, and 7 are progressing further downward and we're piece-plotting so much so that we ran out of nails and flagging tape at one point. I was once again reassigned but this time to do some supplementary work crafting a step out of the eastern half of Unit 3, a previously untouched 2 x 2 unit in the northwest corner of the overall 4 x 4. That sounds like a lot but if you’ve seen the pictures of the site scattered throughout this blog its easy to understand. In any case, DuVal and I set about bringing Unit 3 down another level. Unfortunately the dirt was so loose it was mostly sand at this depth and the eastern wall threatened to collapse with a dangerous fracture. After delicate removal of the fractured part we discussed what should be done next to salvage the step. DuVal set about cutting some plywood planks to shore up the walls of the unit and I made myself useful where I could. As no more digging was to occur in Unit 3 for the time being it freed up a screen to use for some buckets of dirt from Unit 6. It was at this point after screening that I realized I had done something in every unit at the site. Not totally important and not necessarily a goal of mine but a curious and happy coincidence nonetheless. There were a couple more instances where a small portion of the wall between units 6 and 5 crumbled a bit without anyone even around to touch it. Side note: these wall collapses earned their own provenience bags for whatever artifact may be found in the loose dirt that came free. There was a surprising amount in each bag filled which is an encouraging sight as Unit 5 had further to come down and there had to be a wealth of information just sitting there if countless flakes and stones came out of a couple centimeters of crumbled wall.
Next week the people funding parts of this project will be visiting and Dr. White will have to do some entertaining while we set about on our usual routines. Of course I have no idea what I’ll be doing this week but whatever it is I’m sure I’ll learn something and that’s really why I signed up for the class in the first place.
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Student Blog (2017)Blog posts written by the students of the 2017 Broad River Archaeological Field School Archives
April 2017
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