Friday 31 May 2013

May 31 2013 - That's a Wrap on Week Four.

This morning, as per every Friday, we all met in the lab. We were lucky to have our caffeine fix provided for us, courtesy of Caitlin and Waves Coffee.

Thank you Waves, thank you Caitlin, for making the lab a better place.

We spent the majority of the morning in a round table group discussion. We took turns recapping the week, and everyone talked about what they had found in their units and the possibilities of the camp layout.

Janeva, spending some quality time with her Bovril bottle.

We shared some information regarding our progress with our personal projects. As Nathan has been taking some time off from the field, and working in the lab due to an injury, he was able to talk about some of the approximate dates for a few of the artifacts; those from brewery companies and the cold/hand cream jars from Ponds.

Nathan just can't stay away from the artifacts.

I shared some of the stats with the class regarding the blog. So far, people in Canada, the US, the UK, the Netherlands, Spain, Japan, South Korea, Russia, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico and Germany have viewed the blog.

We've got Waves on our side, next, Home Depot.

We discussed our plan for next week, and most students will be attending a lab day on Monday, they can begin their projects, since we now have artifacts and level bags to work with. The sun decided to come out as soon as the class ended, and some of the students joined Ananda, who is a qualified yoga instructor, in an end of week archaeology yoga class.

Hey Bob! Like our pose? Hands up for archaeology.


Thursday 30 May 2013

May 30 2013 - Patience was a Virtue.

Today marked the last day in the field for week four. All students arrived on time ready to get back to work. Thankfully today, although the sun did not shine, at least the rain held off for the majority
 the day.

Stuart, Wendy and Kathleen, getting back to business.


A lot was accomplished today. In the morning, Richard set up a new unit on the south side near the large first growth tree stump. He has already found a collection of cultural evidence: more metal shards, some ceramic and a tin can. Richard also came across a more recent artifact, a hammer, which looks like it dates back at least 5 years, and is most likely evidence of field school students.

White ceramic with blue writing, and a tin can, in situ.


Anyone missing a hammer? Send your info to Bob and he'd be more than happy to return it to you.


Today, after much restraint, Tiana was able to fully uncover and excavate her finding, a very well preserved mens leather boot.  Jeneva has also shown great patience, she first discovered the base of a bottle two days ago, but has been working throughout her excavation unit before finally being able to expose the whole bottle. After uncovering it today, Jeneva was able to make out some writing on the bottle, and we discovered it was an old 8oz Bovril bottle.


Another day, another artifact.

Jeneva and the Bovril bottle she finally got to get her hands on today.


Thursday proved to be another productive and exciting day in the field. Kelsey and Cameron found two bottle caps, Amanda found what appears to be a small gaming piece, and others found more nails, more twisted wire and Japanese ceramics.

Stuart and Wendy working hard at excavating some more tin cans and metal from underneath a tree root.



Amanda sitting proudly with her possible gaming piece.

We also had the pleasure of two more guests this afternoon. Dr. Laura McKay, a professor of Psychology at Capilano University, and her husband- Archaeologist Dave Hall, both guests made the trek out to site on bikes and in the rain. Dave is a professional consulting archaeologist in British Columbia and has his own company- Arrowstone Archaeological Research and Consulting Ltd. Dave took some time to talk to the students about his work in British Columbia as a consulting archaeologist (including the necessity of working in the rain). He works with both First Nations and resource companies, doing extensive field work in both interior and coastal areas.


Laura and Dave, on their way out, excited about the prospect of cycling in the rain. Again.



 

Wednesday 29 May 2013

May 29 2013 - Excellent Excavation Evidence.

Today we all went back to work in the rain. Bob mentioned that he thinks this is the first field school where it has rained so much consecutively. Nevertheless, everyone was excited to get back to excavating, especially those of us who have discovered artifacts peeking through the sediment, and are eager to uncover them.


Probably the only glimpse of Tiana not finding an artifact.


It didn't take long for more artifacts to be found or remnants to be added to level bags. Tiana, Kelsey, Cameron, and Amanda found a metal workfile, more than 100 nails, two bullet casings, a metal button (probably for work clothing), and they are in process of exposing what appears to be a fairly complete leather work boot.

Jeneva, patiently and carefully excavating around a bottle. Slow and steady wins the race.

On the other side, Richard, Stuart, Kathleen, Emma, Erinn, Jeneva, Nadine and Ananda have found more nails, shards of metal, twisted wire, cans, rice bowl fragments and what looks like a butchered mammal bone. Bob mentioned that this area is interesting because he assumed that there would be trash  at the base of the large tree, but didn't consider that there could be a building. Based on finding so many nails at the unit, he believes it to be reasonable to conclude there was, in fact, a building here.

Great lines, great root exposure, great teamwork.

Caitlin is excavating in the small area where Bob thinks there was a garden. She continues to find nails, bits of glass, bits of ceramics, and bits of metal. Bob explained that the metal, glass, and bits of ceramic may have been washed down from the trash approximately 10 m up slope.

Sarah and Jasmin, celebrating their one year archaeology field school anniversary.


Today we had two sets of visitors. First, from last year's field school, Sarah and Jasmin stopped by and had a look around; both are currently at SFU studying archaeology. Our other visitors were Kaylen and her fiance Jon. Kaylen was part of the 2009 field school and volunteered to excavate at the 2012 field school. She has recently graduated with a degree in archaeology.


The couple that digs together, stays together. Despite not being an archaeologist, Jon likes to help his fiance Kaylen out in the field.






Tuesday 28 May 2013

May 28 2013 - A Muddy Archaeologist is a Good Archaeologist.

Like yesterday, all students made the hike to the site in the rain.  By the time everyone arrived, we were ready to get to work and excavating in the mud.

Another day, another level.


Caitlin returned to her smaller plot on the north-eastern side, and continued to excavate soil samples in hopes of discovering some seeds.


Caitlin, examining the sediment, hoping for "big money" aka seeds.


Everyone got back into their pairs and resumed where they had left off . Since we were able to clear the surface and litter mat yesterday, Bob gave each pair an arbitrary level by which to record and excavate.

Good little excavation elves.


Wendy and Richard found a small tin can, one that appears to be somewhat different than the others previously found at the site, as well as some nails. Stuart found an old tin can and shards of clear glass. Erinn and Jeneva are excavating around a clear glass bottle, so far only the base is visible, so we are still unsure whether they will come across the bottle in it's entirety or just in pieces. Cameron, Tiana and Kelsey continue to work on the south-east side of the site, and have also come across metal shards and nails.

Cameron and Tiana in action.


Everyone has been carefully filling out level sheets and artifact forms, making sure that, despite the wetness, everything is properly documented.

Not the cleanest of level bags, but at least the writing is legible. Also, the tin can found by Stuart, waiting to be bagged.


We also had the pleasure of a couple more guests braving the rain for a visit today. Two previous field school students, Andrew and Alexis, stopped by to take a look and see what we were getting up to this year.

These two just couldn't get enough. Alexis and Andrew, students from last years field school,  returned to the site.


All in all, perhaps the wettest and muddiest day so far, but the findings and progress kept everyone in good spirits.


A little mud never hurt anyone.


Monday 27 May 2013

May 27 2013 - Digging in the Rain

Despite us crossing our fingers, the rain returned today, and we all hiked back to the site on this dreary Monday. The morning quickly perked up for some students, however, as when Ananda, Nadine, Caitlin and Cameron were approximately 4 km into their hike, they spotted a bear crossing the path a few metres ahead.


Nothing like a bear sighting to wake you up in the morning.

All groups separated and eagerly got back to work on their excavation units. Wendy, Richard, and Stuart finished searching for any cultural evidence at the large first growth tree stump; nothing else was found, and they returned to excavate a unit near the third group on the south-east portion of the site. We finished the morning by marking the pit datum and recording the DBD per unit.

Jeneva, Ananda, Emma and Erinn determined to mark the proper datum.



The first group, Tiana, Amanda, Cameron, Kelsey and Caitlin were fortunate to come across a few things in their unit. Tiana found an American penny and the coin appears to be dated either 1908 or 1918. This is relevant and helpful as we know the camp to have been occupied post 1918.  Tiana also found what looks to be something like a damper handle, or a piece of a stove. Bob had chosen this location for them to excavate as he believes there was once a cabin there. The group also found several nails of various sizes, what appears to be burned planks or floorboards, metal pieces, and bits of ceramic.

Tiana, Kelsey, Caitlin, Amanda, and Cameron very pleased with themselves after finding the stove pieces.


In the afternoon, Ananda, and Nadine helped Caitlin set up a new 2m x 1m excavation unit in the area Bob believes to have been a garden, and the object is for Caitlin to find seeds.

Stuart and Wendy sifting sediment.

The second group, Kathleen, Erinn, Ananda, Nadine, Jeneva and Emma, now joined by Wendy, Stuart and Richard continued to clear the surface and litter mat. Everyone carefully sifted their sediment through the screens and some people found pieces of clear broken glass, and, at the base of the stump among the roots, Wendy found remnants of a tin can and some nails, and Richard excavated pieces of ceramic.

The groups hard at work dealing with clearing the litter mat.

 
From bear sightings to stove piece findings, with guest appearances from mice, newts, spiders and beetles, this productive day proved to be pretty eventful.

Under an old rotting log, so far,  cultural evidence-0 Nature-1.








Friday 24 May 2013

May 24 2013 - Lab Day Friday, Preparing for the Big Unknown.

Today we spent the morning in the lab. I brought in some coffee for the class so we were all percolated and ready to learn what was next in store for the field school. Bob discussed the results from the first couple of weeks out in the field and how he was pleased with our findings from our test excavations.

Artifact accumulation.



Bob also went over the expectations for the upcoming weeks, and how to properly excavate in our units. He explained the importance of the pit datum, and how to measure our dimensions accurately. We also learned about level sheets and artifact/inventory forms, and what was required when filling them.




The class learning about the joys of level sheets.




This week in terms of wildlife people saw some deer, and during the test excavations we were digging under a lot of old tree stumps, where we found some interesting bugs and newts. Also, one group felt the presence of a large shadowy animal. Perhaps a bear, perhaps a Sasquatch.... Regardless, for the end of the week we were on high alert.


The day Emma Kimm-Jones met Newt Gingrich.

 
Some students discussed their personal projects and how far along they are, or that they are ansty to start (not much classification or artifact documentation can be done until artifacts are found!). Stuart stayed behind after the lab to work on his waste audit, to weigh and document the remains from the past week.

Week 3 ended with beautiful weather, and as always we are keeping our hopes high that it stays for our next week out in the trenches.

A shot of the old water reservoir, which is located near the first growth stump where the expensive cook stove was hidden.

Thursday 23 May 2013

May 23 2013 - Finally, Our Very Own Excavation Units.

Thankfully the weather continued to cooperate and this morning we were able to conclude our test excavations under blue skies and slivers of sunshine.

Bob's truck marks the spot.

After each group had recorded the results from their coordinates, Bob divided us into new groups and we were assigned sections where we were to set up our new 2m x 2m excavation units.


Gathering around the wise one for further instructions.


Our first group; Richard, Stuart and Wendy are on the west side of a very large first growth tree stump on the extreme western periphery. Bob had previously discovered an expensive early 20th century cook stove (in pieces) there and reasoned that it was probably hidden behind the tree stump. There is no evidence of any kind of building within 50 metres of the stove, and it is on a slope. Richard came up with the idea of doing more excavation here, hypothesising that if they hid one thing they may have hidden other things as well.


Stuart and Richard, hard at work searching for more cultural evidence at the expensive stove site.

Our second group; Amanda, Cameron, Caitlin, Tiana and Kelsey are excavating an area based on the results found in an earlier test excavation done by Amanda, Nathan and Tiana. They had discovered a (probable) tobacco tin lid and 20 nails. Bob wanted to excavate here because the nails are indicative of a building which will help to give a better sense of the camp layout .Also, Bob mentioned that things like tobacco cans are often useful for dating.


Kelsey (hiding behind a tree), Tiana, Amanda, Cameron and Caitlin figuring out how to mark an excavation unit.


They did it! A stellar grid made by a stellar team.


Our third group; Ananda, Kathleen, Erinn, Jeneva and Emma are excavating sites based on the test excavations that revealed evidence of residential trash (ie a "Ponds" jar, and a bottle), with the hopes of also establishing the presence of another building and providing dates.

Jeneva, Erinn, Kathleen and Ananda making good use of their line level.

The beginning of a beautiful unit.


Each group began the afternoon by measuring and setting up their excavation units. Some took longer than others, due to their location on the mountain slope, as creating a grid on an incline can be tricky; the line level and plumb-bob came in very handy. Wendy, Richard and Stuart's group took a different approach and were able to use shovels and dig around the area of the stump in hopes of finding any other cultural material.


Sometimes, you just gotta improvise... An organic plumb-bob courtesy of group 3.

By the end of the day the second group was able to begin excavating in their unit and start sifting though sediment from their section.

Group 2 learning the tricks of the trade.


Wednesday 22 May 2013

May 22 2013 - Excavation Entertainment and Company Cameos.

Our spirits were lifted this morning as we all either hiked or biked in to the site in drier, sunnier weather.

Gone are the early days where field school students would need to build their own benches and find shelter under trees.


Our main focus of the day was to excavate the remaining test units at 10 metre intervals. A few groups did find some remnants of artifacts, and altogether we found a piece of a Japanese sake bottle, some broken beer bottles, pieces of metal, and some nails.

Stuart, taking time off from his busy waste audit schedule, to do some test excavations, Erinn, diligently recording their findings.

After lunch Bob gave us a demonstration of how to use bear spray. There was a little wind and some of the concentrated cayenne pepper drifted back on the group , causing some fast walking and running out of the area, some coughing, and a few watery eyes; but nothing serious. It was good to actually see how it works and understand how it could stop a bear. Bob asked if anybody wanted to try shooting the spray. A few did, but most were content to watch.


The group enjoying lunch. A simpler time, before the bear spray.


We were also lucky enough today to have two visitors to the site. Our first guest, Tad McIlwraith, is a local anthropologist as well as a friend of Bob's. Most recently Tad has been teaching and doing research out at Douglas College in New Westminster, however he will be moving east to Ontario to take up a position at the University of Guelph.


Emma, Tad, and Kathleen hanging out at 30N50E.



Classic Tad, and Erinn.



Our second guest today was Bob's son, Tomas. Tomas is usually working up in northern British Columbia or Alberta, but he is home for  a few weeks and thought he would like to come out and see what the archaeology thing is all about.


Cameron, Kelsey and Tomas, ready for business.