Voluntold

Last week, we wrapped the first half of our fieldwork. In the next few weeks, we'll be analyzing artifacts, reevaluating maps, and creating a game plan for the second round of fieldwork. We'll also be doing some fieldwork at the Roundhouse Railroad Museum. 

A huge thanks to our wonderful volunteers who froze alongside us these past three weeks!

Ijtihad Muhammad

Matt Luke

Carl Arndt

Momoco Holder

Laura Lewis

Dawn Chapman Guest

Michael Lamb

Finally? Maybe.

You may have noticed that I have been talking a lot about where we are digging, but not much about what we are finding. We have been discovering artifacts and archaeological sites throughout these past few weeks, but nothing older than the early 1800s. We simply haven’t found anything significant enough to report. Until now.


Today we dug shovel tests throughout Thomas Park, the park adjacent to Bull Street Library. In one corner of the park, we found artifacts that date to the colonial era, including Rhenish stoneware and tabby mortar (but still no military artifacts).

Tomorrow, Dan will run his ground-penetrating radar machine over the area. In addition to archaeological features, we will be looking for modern utilities. The park has a sculpture fountain, a drinking fountain, lampposts, and irrigation lines that have been dug into the archaeology site. We want to avoid these utilities for three reasons: we don’t want to break any of them, we don’t want to electrocute ourselves, and the utility has already destroyed the archaeology site so there is no point in digging near them.

When we being our second round of fieldwork in the spring, we will return to Thomas Park and dig larger areas to determine if there is intact soil from the 1700s.

Also tomorrow, catch us at WW Law Park digging more shovel test pits.

How we dig shovel tests:

 1. Dig a hole and screen the dirt for artifacts.

2. Measure the soil layers.

3. Write notes about the soils and artifacts found.

4. Fill hole back in.

5. Repeat.

Butterflies in the sky...

Thursday we will be digging in the park adjacent to Bull Street Library, one of my favorite places. Props to the Georgia Room and Interlibrary Loan departments- ya'll are awesome!

Tomorrow we will continue our relentless pursuit of the American Camps in Laurel Grove Cemetery. Thanks to Mr. Flowers and an anonymous tipster, we now know about some high ground nearby that might be an old road. Time to bring out the topo maps!


Laurel Grove is often overshadowed by its big sister, Bonaventure Cemetery. While boasting fewer famous people, and containing an overload of obelisks, Laurel Grove is still worth checking out.

Presidents Day before we had presidents

Monday we will be working in Laurel Grove Cemetery.  Take advantage of the holiday to celebrate George and the Revolution!

A Dirty Job

Why has Mike Rowe never done a Dirty Jobs show on archaeology? Archaeology is all about dirt. Everybody thinks it is all about the artifacts. They're important, but the dirt is the real information. The different colors, shapes, and textures of soil tell us if we are digging a privy, a modern pipe trench, or a post hole that was the corner of a house.

The difference between an archaeologist and someone digging to find artifacts (may I say looter?) are these clues from the differences in dirt. Archaeologists record the soils and the artifacts we find in each soil. We take pictures, fill out forms, map our finds, and write endless notes. In the lab, we use these field records and our artifact analysis to “reconstruct” the site and to understand the site. We then write our technical report and a (hopefully) more interesting public report.

Once you disturb the dirt by digging through it, you destroy history by destroying the dirt clues. Archaeology is a dirty job, in fact, we are dirt connoisseurs.

On Friday- catch us in Laurel Grove Cemetery.

whitfield/whitefield

Come to Whitfield Square tommorow and visit our hard working volunteers

and watch us dig small holes.