Our Big Dig!!! Beth M. p. 2

Tuesday-10/02/07
Dear Dig Diary,

Today was the first day of our Archeological dig. To start out with our class chose the
location that we thought would be the most fit to examine. Each team member took three flags and marked the items we found to be the most out of place. We looked for sharpened rocks and disturbed grasses and placed our dig perimeters around that area. When we decided upon the place to set our grid we measured out a two by two meter square. One of the sides had to be oriented north-south so we used a compass to point it in the right direction and then to make each angle 90˚. After marking four sides with string we decided it was a little uneven so instead of cutting the grid into one meter squares we just divided into four parts. We were very excited to mark out our digging spot and can’t wait to continue the process of excavating tomorrow.

Wednesday-10/03/07
Dear Dig Diary,

Today we started recording our first artifacts. Starting with the surface we sketched the items on the top layer. To do this we were divided into groups. Each group has their own quadrant. Ellen, Georgina and I began working on quadrant C. We found a couple rocks that seemed odd for the surrounding. I believe that they could be arrowheads or spear points. Some of the rocks we found seemed to be made of sandstone and the others made of shale. We named each artifact using the format of labeling the quadrant and then the order in which we found it. (I.e. C1) We also sifted each bucket of soil to find any missing artifacts. We will be excavating in layers and using this process for each 20 cm layer. Overall it was a great first day of excavation.

Friday-10/05/07
Dear Dig Diary,
After talking note of layer zero we started digging into the dirt. We started off using trowels but soon started using shovels. As we began digging we uncovered a huge rock, we were about to pry it out when we realized that it would be best to dig around it so that we could even out our square. We found that it was pretty difficult to dig in our quadrant because it was mostly clumped dirt that we had to brake up with the shovel and rake. However we broke up the dirt and have almost reached 20 cm down all over the hole. We have the rock half uncovered. One of the other groups made an amazing discovery. They found a rock with cave art on it. It was a great day, a little dusty though.

Tuesday -10/ 9/2007
Dear Dig Diary,
Today we made some very exciting discoveries. We continued to dig into our first layer and revealed some strange artifacts. We switched quadrants so my group is now excavating quadrant B. Unfortunately the quadrant that we left was heavily supplied with interesting artifacts. As a class we found a very nice axe with a wooden handle. It was beautifully made and quite artistic. Also to do with the arts we found some wonderfully painted stones. One was quite large and had a buffalo on it. There was also a smaller rock painting and some interesting instruments. In quadrant B a team of students found what seems to be a flute, it was quite an interesting day and we have hypothesized that the group that left behind these artifacts must have been very artistic.


Wednesday-10/10, 2007
Dear Dig Diary,
After switching quadrants and not finding anything we were very determined to make a discovery. We worked hard using the shovels and rakes, braking up the hard dirt as we went along. We kept digging and finally got through layer on and started layer two at 20 cm. After emptying buckets of soil we noticed a pointed rock that was white. It seems to be the shape of a tooth; we decided it might be a Saber tooth or a wooly mammoth tooth. We were very excited to finally make a discovery. After sketching our new found artifact and recording it in our journal we got back to digging and soon uncovered a large stone. We dusted it off with excitement to find that it too had a large painting on it, this time a horse. Amazingly quadrant B found a string of big glass beads around the same level that we found our new artifact. I believe this group of hominids must have been very advanced and artistic to have had this amount of detail in their work. We had a long dusty excavation period, however I think that we have uncovered all of the objects and our whole pit is equally around 40 cm deep. I am very glad that we uncovered some artifacts and cannot wait to date them in the lab of Mac.

Thursday 10/11/2007
Dear Dig Diary,

Today was very interesting looking back at all interesting artifacts. We started by labeling each item with sharpie to match our records. Then we took special photos with them that included their length and item number. For this we used a special station with bright lights and a mounted camera so that the picture would be crystal clear. Then we sketched each item into a full diagram including each layer and every quadrant so that we could see what items were together. This would give us a better idea of what the artifacts were used for. We are very excited to come to our final conclusion and are setting up a museum with all of our exhibits from different dig locations.