June 23: Guests of Honor

 

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David Watt and Laura Volz outfitted for rain

  The day had a dismal start--rain and more rain.  We went to the site, hoping the rain would break, and eventually it did.  The ground was already saturated from the rain during the past few days, so we continued making dog leash surface collections.

Valerie Hall discovered this ceramic pipe on the surface at the east end of the site

The morning's work brought us close to finishing comprehensive surface collections of the whole settlement area. It is really striking how much the plants have grown since we began the survey. If we did not have the flags from the first week's work, some artifacts would never have been found again!

Lorelei Schak peers into the ground cover to look for artifacts

Cailin Meyer uses her awesome red bag to carry tools of the trade

Bo excavates a plow scar filled with food remains

Later that morning, the threat of rain had subsided, so we opened up the excavation units once again.  We had some special guests--archaeologists from the Tribal Historic Preservation Office of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Yolanda Saunooke, the Section 106 assistant, and an intern, Bo, arrived at just the right time--we were wrapping up with collections. After a site tour, Bo pitched in with the excavations.  Some units were filled with water again, but others were damp but not overly muddy. Bo was impressed with the soft soil and the abundant artifacts.

Yolanda Saunooke oversees excavations

 We had a longer field day to take advantage of the dry weather and the excellent company. We found well preserved animal bone and large chunks of charcoal.  The students with water filled units pitched in with excavations in drier units and with water screening. In all, it was a great day!