In our last week of field school we had a number of exciting discoveries that have expanded our understanding of the site’s history and excavation in the future. As we wrapped up the final units, excavation of the connected test units 29 and 37 allowed the entire group to experience their first major feature excavations. As is procedure, the large stain in the middle of the unit was bisected and excavated in halves. The feature is bisected so that the excavators can get a clean profile of the entire feature from top to bottom.
Throughout the excavation, we were most interested in the number of large artifacts pulled from the unit. In situations like this, it is assumed that the feature is possibly an old trash pit, but definitely from an area that was not disrupted by plows. To mention a few of the items, the feature included two large bones, three large pieces of metal and a large piece of ceramic.
While we were hoping to find more domestic features, this discovery helped us with understanding the landscape of site D. When the entire unit was excavated, it became obvious that the unit was on top of a trench that was most likely naturally made. In many cases, these naturally occurring trenches are used similarly to a landfill today. While this helps us with the artifacts and landscape, it tells us little about the types of people or buildings there.
While the stain was a successful excavation, it helped us more for practice than for solid information. Hopefully with continuing work we will be doing there this summer, we’ll be able to discover more solid evidence of George Haden’s home and possible outbuildings.
-Caroline Huber ’12
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