Delineation Ho!
Jun. 24th, 2008 06:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pinksonia So this week we started delineating the line. See, when we do the initial survey anytime we find an artifact we make a note of where it is, take a GPS point, and then continue on. Now we get to go back to all those places and figure out how big the sites are and if they're important or not. We start with the initial positive shovel test and dig out from it in the four cardinal directions until we have two shovel tests with nothing in them or we reach the end of our boundaries. It makes the work more fun knowing that everyday you are pretty much guaranteed to find something. Both crew do have to work together though, so NS and I have a bet on how long it takes TJL to hit RAH. I'm giving the benefit of the doubt and saying they will last the entire 10-day.
Today we did two delineations. The first was prehistoric in nature. It was probably the best kind of delineation possible. Nearly all of the shovel tests were positive, so we got the excitement of finding things and knowing that it would probably go to a phase II excavation. But unlike many other delineations it had clear boundaries, so we knew it couldn't go on forever. There was an AV rental place with a rigged up outhouse to the south, a pipeline to the west, and a second pipeline to the east. The only way it could expand was to the north.
The second delineation was not nearly so great. It was a historic scatter in an area that had been logged. That means there were push piles all over the place (big piles of fallen trees and their branches that need to be climbed). Also, after a little while it was clear that the "site" was from the seventies and therefore not really a site at all. At least it got the chance to be delineated and had the time period confirmed. Most historic sites don't because of a strange prejudice against historic sites amongst much of the archaeological community.
In other news, over the four-day I dyed my hair. It is now deep auburn and that makes me happy. Also I got to play my first game of D&D which I enjoyed and makes me a huge dork. My character has horns and a four foot tale which also makes me happy, even if Arynne smirks every time I mention the word character.
Today we did two delineations. The first was prehistoric in nature. It was probably the best kind of delineation possible. Nearly all of the shovel tests were positive, so we got the excitement of finding things and knowing that it would probably go to a phase II excavation. But unlike many other delineations it had clear boundaries, so we knew it couldn't go on forever. There was an AV rental place with a rigged up outhouse to the south, a pipeline to the west, and a second pipeline to the east. The only way it could expand was to the north.
The second delineation was not nearly so great. It was a historic scatter in an area that had been logged. That means there were push piles all over the place (big piles of fallen trees and their branches that need to be climbed). Also, after a little while it was clear that the "site" was from the seventies and therefore not really a site at all. At least it got the chance to be delineated and had the time period confirmed. Most historic sites don't because of a strange prejudice against historic sites amongst much of the archaeological community.
In other news, over the four-day I dyed my hair. It is now deep auburn and that makes me happy. Also I got to play my first game of D&D which I enjoyed and makes me a huge dork. My character has horns and a four foot tale which also makes me happy, even if Arynne smirks every time I mention the word character.
