Geophysical

We were lucky enough to have UWF graduate and geophysical guru Sarah Mitchell at the site today. She brought with her two of UWF's geophysical machines: the soil resistivity and magnetometer. Under her direction the students lay out two adjacent 20 x 20 meter grids in Area A in which we would run the soil resistivity machine.

Here (right) Capri Wright lays down tapes.

Resistivity involves the measurement of resistance to an electrical current, which is passed through the ground. The amount of resistance is affected by how much moisture is present in the soil. Fortunately for us, two of our students, Meagan Rea and Salina Hebert, already have had practice running the soil resistivity machinery and were able to assist the rest of the class.

After the machinery was put together, students took turns running it up and down our established grid lines. This was a unique opportunity to explore a piece of scientific equipment that few other undergraduate field schools have an chance to use.

Here Peter Sittig (left) gets his chance to try out the machinery, while Becky Jadallah (right) makes sure that the lines don't get tangled.

Unfortunately, we ran out of time to use the magnetometer. Sarah plans to come back within the next week to complete this portion of our geophysical survey. The results from our soil resistivity survey are due back in only a few days. Stay tuned for the results! We hope that these surveys will reveal further evidence for architectural features or other similar occupational zones.

And to wrap up today's post, please check out the video below to see the resistivity machine in action! That's Salina Hebert and Peter Sittig making science look easy.

The 2010 Field Season Begins!

Classes have ended and the weather has become increasingly oppressive, which can only mean one thing: it's once again time for the UWF field school season! UWF is again offering three well-attended field schools: the Colonial Frontiers terrestrial project near Molino, Florida, the Maritime field school in Pensacola Bay, and the Arcadia Mills Village project here in Milton, Florida.

This year we hope to expand upon work done last summer. The 2009 crew uncovered evidence of a pier-supported house in the northwest portion of the Arcadia Mills property held by UWF. The 2010 crew will continue to excavate the block of units started by last year's crew, as well as open a number of other units and trenches in order to determine the nature and period of occupation of this fascinating structure.

We have an outstanding crew this year who are coping well with being thrown right into the thick of things. These brand new students are employing their recently learned techniques to tackle complex units and features, and are doing so admirably!

During the first half of the week the students were introduced to the site and taught the skills they'll need to undertake the summer's work. Fortunately, there was a large pile of re-excavated screened backfill dirt on which the new archaeologists could practice what they learned. On the above left, students practice the fine art of shovel popping. On the right, students discover the light hand necessary for preparing an excavated area for photos, also known as photocleaning.

Even though we're only at the end of Week One, the 2010 UWF crew has already made outstanding progress! Although we've only had two real day's worth of digging, the students have uncovered a host of domestic-related artifacts like a number of different types of ceramic, window glass, nails and fasteners, bottle glass, and two different molded pipebowls.

At the above left is am in situ shallow whiteware bowl or deep saucer. On the right are Arcadia field school students Trey Ropelis and Amanda Dahlberg with the molded clay pipebowl they recovered. These great finds are just the beginning of all the wonderful work that will happen this summer. Check back often for updates on our excavations and the artifacts we've found, as well as student highlights.

Next week we will be doing additional geophysical surveys in Area A. UWF graduate student Sarah Mitchell will instruct the students in the use of soil resistivity and magnetometer. The results of these surveys will help us direct our future work on the site. This promises to be an exciting summer, and we can't wait to share it with you!