Thursday, June 14, 2007


By Erin Bailey


I think most of us were ready to close our units as we neared the last levels of sterile soil, but Paul and I are still working on our bisection to get a better idea of the profiles of the two features (the trench and possible posthole) and their matrix. However, the post hole-like area continued to a depth where it became too difficult to spoon out, especially since we are only removing one half of it. At about 70 cm, it appears that we have hit the bottom of the trench.

During our recent Public Day event, I was asked several times about what was to come of our units once field school ended. Although it was not formally addressed, I knew that it is not unusual for a well-documented excavation to be back-filled, and doing so probably protects it to an extent. It has been decided that the fill dirt will come from the small, modern mound just north of the parking lot, which needs to be screened anyway, so by screening it directly into our units, we will be accomplishing these two tasks simultaneously.

It is so close to the end of field school that conversation has shifted from what we have found in our units to how we might best keep in touch with each other. After seeing these guys as often as I see my husband and devoting seven hours a day to a hole in the ground, life will soon be very different as I head back to campus, and it is hard saying goodbye to the project.