UWF 2011 Field School: Arcadia Mill Village

Update - Artifact Showcase

2011-07-21T17:29:00.000-07:00

Over the last ten weeks, the field school has recovered thousands of distinct pieces of evidence concerning the occupation periods of the Arcadia Mill Village. Some of them have been featured in previous blog posts, but there are quite a few that deserve mentioning now that we have completed excavation and are preparing for a transition from recovery to conservation and analysis.

This iron, depicted in situ, or in place, was missing its handle. It is possible that we have actually recovered it during the summer's excavations, but since iron artifacts are often almost unrecognizable because of oxidation pre-conservation, it will take a while for us to find it!

We have found several fragments of tableware at Area A. These sorts of finds can "cross-mend" in a fashion similar to ceramics. Individuals of low socioeconomic status would buy their tableware piecemeal as they could afford it, and plantation slaves sometimes received hand-me-downs, so it is unlikely that there is a complete set of silverware out there at Area A. This can make a cross-mend more valuable for tying distinct contexts together through association, because of the greater variety of decorative traditions.

This bottle, as you can see in the wall of one of our units and the scaled image to the left, has a sizeable "kick," which is the convex indentation in the bottom of wine bottles left over from the manufacturing process. Wine bottles change in shape over time as styles of manufacture change, which can provide a source of relative dates on a site.

It was exciting to find evidence of activities at Area A. This frog gig is aptly named for its use in hunting small reptiles and amphibians. Counter-intuitively, people of low socioeconomic status in the past tended to have a more diverse diet than wealthy individuals, which often resulted in better nutrition for them in the long run!

Faunal remains can give special insight into the diet of historical actors. Earlier, I mentioned the lack of faunal remains in many of our test units. Local soil conditions are sandy, with a high level of acidity. This causes organic material to decay quickly in the absence of something in the soil to neutralize it. Lime from mortar used to hold bricks together is a base, which explains the presence of these teeth in a feature that was notable for its brick and mortar concentration.

It is important for an archaeologist to decide the size of screen to use on an excavation, because small artifacts like this clothing hook can slip through a 1/4" screen unnoticed during sifting. For this reason, we switch to the smaller 1/8" screen when we encounter features.

This piece of white-ware has what is known as a transfer print, a method of imprinting complex and detailed shapes onto the surface of a ceramic dish, cup, or other implement cheaply and quickly. These sorts of ceramic wares were intended for mass-market consumption.

Student Highlight - Lauren Bell

2011-07-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

Lauren Bell is a Junior anthropology major at the University of West Florida. Her specialization is biological anthropology, but she wanted to expand her interests to terrestrial work this year. She plans to apply for UWF's forensic anthropology field school next summer. Her study interests include human origins and evolutionary theory, and has looked forward to working outside in the woods.

Student Highlight - Matt Giesecke

2011-07-18T12:55:00.000-07:00

Matt Giesecke is a senior from Tallahassee, Florida. He is a maritime archaeology major, but he wanted to get some terrestrial experience at Arcadia this year. His favorite activities are scuba diving and swimming, and he has always enjoyed living near the water. His future plans include applying to UWF for graduate school.

Update - Maritime Mapping

2011-07-18T08:42:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the final week of the 2011 Arcadia field season! Many thanks are due to everyone who contributed their valuable time and energy to helping us understand the nature of the antebellum community at Arcadia Mill. The field school finished this season's final test unit excavation at the end of last Friday, and we are now going through the process of back-filling, performing maintenance on our equipment, and preparing the artifacts that we have recovered for the lab component of our project.

Our maritime survey has been an outstanding success. Thanks to their work, we now have the entire extent of Pond Creek within the boundaries of the property mapped, along with associated features like cut timbers, cut shorelines, vertical pilings, and sandstone scatters. The hand-drawn maps from this work have already been geo-referenced and digitally integrated into our Geographic Information System for analysis. We've also been able to do some geophysical work in the creek with the underwater magnetometer.

Maritime mapping techniques are a little different than what terrestrial archaeologists are used to. Since it is not efficient to section out a grid in such a large area as a creek bed, our divers have established what are called baselines. At Arcadia, these baselines have a starting and ending point known by their UTM coordinates. The crew was then able to measure the distance and angle from their baseline to the feature that they wanted to map. Once integrated into our GIS, the architectural features can be easily compared to the vector data that we already have such as topographic contours, US Geological Survey soil composition, areal photographs, and historic maps.

The maritime component has also been able to take some underwater photographs of features associated with the mill this summer. Thanks to the recent dry weather conditions, the creek was clear of the brown tannin from local oak trees that would obscure visibility. Moreover, the actual water level of the creek has been low enough to make for good lighting conditions.

This image depicts part of a circular brick concentration near a square-cut channel in the creek's bank. This could very well be the location of the bridge because of the earthworks that had been done to allow for easy access to the water.

Thanks to the action of the flow of water over the years, the creek bed is littered with sandstone scatters like these. While some were probably intended to help channel the flow of water, it is possible that some were also used to create a stable foundation to build structures upon.

The maritime component of our field school was always on the lookout for squared timbers. To the left you can see a cut board with a cut circular hole. Mortis and Tenon construction was a popular alternative to relying on expensive nails for holding structures together. The image to the right is vertical piling that might have been for a bridge or wooden support structure.

This video should give you an excellent impression of what it was like as a diver during the survey. As you can see, identifying cultural features and telling them apart from the natural character of the creek bed can be quite a challenge!

Update - Completing the Square / Underwater Features

2011-07-13T09:31:00.000-07:00

We were excited to discover what we think is the fourth corner of one of our proposed structures at Area A. Wherever an archaeologist works, it is important to know the sorts of things to look for in the ground so that he or she knows an architectural feature when she sees it. The footprint of any given structure is dependent on the region where the remains are found, so understanding local building traditions and soil composition are imperatives before digging begins so that we know what to look for. In soft sandy soil like at Arcadia, even housing associated with individuals of low socioeconomic status needed to have piers or supports that wouldn't rot when exposed to the comparatively high acidity of sandy soil. While ironstone has survived underground relatively intact over the years, the brick tends to get crushed under the pressure and root action, leaving the fragments behind in a tightly packed cluster. We've been careful to leave eposed bricks in situ until we could verify whether or not they are from a scatter or are in fact a destroyed pier.

Finding and identifying architectural features can sometimes lead to frustrating false alarms. One of our other units found a dark stain in the ground that appeared to be a posthole at first, but as they began excavating it separately, they saw that they had actually found a rodent burrow. These anomalies are nevertheless documented in case their presence could explain some of other part of what we are seeing in any given provenience.

Our field school's maritime component has been hard at work every day mapping Pond Creek and associated mill features. They have found sunken timbers, pieces of ironstone supports, and even square-cut channels in the side of the bank that suggest the presence of roads and bridges. They have also mapped the opening in the dam through which water traveled on its way to the textile mill via the "head-race," a part of a mill that carried the water from where it was being stored to where its kinetic energy would be best used to operate milling equipment. Since the water's strength comes from its height rather than the speed of the flow itself, it was only necessary to cut channels that descended a few inches every hundred feet. Because of the soft soil conditions in the area, wooden and ironstone linings and supports remain in the ground from where they were used to help protect the earthworks from erosion. Stay tuned for detailed underwater photographs and maps as they come in!

Update - Geophysical and Maritime

2011-06-30T08:59:00.000-07:00

The field school has reached its half-way point, with our scope of Area A expanding to four blocks and five trenches with a combined total of over 75 test units. The search for architectural remains continues, and we are adding some crushed brick piers to our map that line up well with known geophysical anomalies and the results of our predictive models.

We are interested in carrying our excavations to the south and east next, so we had our first geophysical survey of the summer in the freshly cleared area. Soil Resistivity has been an effective tool at Arcadia in past years, and Sarah Mitchell came down to show our students how to operate the device.

The soil resistivity meter reads electrical impulses sent from a pair of metal spikes stuck in the ground several meters away. The current travels through the ground to be measured by the machine that the operator walks with and sticks in the ground at prescribed points. High resistivity in one area can mean a number of different things, such as compacted or artifact-laden soil. If present, foundations can also be detectable as well.

In addition, our field school has begun its maritime component. We now have some of our crew in Pond Creek every day mapping the shape of the channel and the structural remains of pilings, rocks, and beams that have lain there since Arcadia was abandoned. UWF was able to get some underwater video of the mill foundation beams in the early 1990's, but this recon survey will give us a more complete idea of how these structures are situated and how well they are withstanding erosion. In addition, part of understanding community organization at Arcadia comes from knowing where roads used to be, so one of the other goals of the underwater survey is to find bridge-related features that would help us locate any roads that crossed Pond Creek.

Data Visualization with GIS - Part Two

2011-06-25T11:15:00.000-07:00

Part of understanding the past involves visualizing the "built world," or the physical result of the relationship between people and their environment. At Arcadia, the extensive earthworks and structural remains serves as powerful evidence of the ways in which the environment was permanently altered by human occupation. Geographic Information Systems software is uniquely suited to addressing research questions concerning how the natural world was turned into a built one during a site's occupation. (Please click the image thumbnails for a larger version.)
This image is a contour map showing the topography of the Juan de la Rua land grant. This particular parcel of land was valuable because it had an excellent mill seat. A mill seat is a narrow channel in between two landforms of comparatively high elevation, so that the water running through it accelerates enough for it to be useful for milling operations. When all of the trees were stripped off of the property for logging in the middle 19th century, it was possible for someone standing on one of the hills to see the entire complex. The tree and brush cover at Arcadia today means that we cannot see what they saw, but with the right tools, it is possible to more effectively visualize this landscape digitally.

ArcScene is a GIS utility capable of rendering mappable data in three dimensions. It was able to get elevation information from the available contour data and stratify it along the z-axis, creating an explorable 3D map. The camera was placed on the north-west corner of the property, so you are looking downstream towards the south-east. The first thing that should be apparent is the natural funnel-like formation of the land that provides the water power that the complex needed to cut lumber and process cotton. Also, the location of the textile mill, as denoted by the blue circle, was meaningfully chosen. The machinery for textile manufacturing was expensive and had to be bought and shipped to Arcadia, so if the dam eventually failed, the machinery had to be protected from flooding. The flat, raised table of land where the blue circle is was perfect for keeping expensive machinery both close at hand and out of harm's way should the dam fail.

The software is capable of even more useful forms of visualization. By rubber-sheeting a historic map such as this one over the known topography, it is possible to explore the map in a way that helps visualize its features like never before. Notice the dotted lines on the historic map. They show roads and paths that may still exist archaeologically, giving us hints as to where unmapped features such as buildings might be found.

Lastly, I will share an animation created with ArcScene's flyover feature. It's an excellent way to show what a person would see from a given vantage point, or what a bird would see if it was flying though the region.

Artifact of the Week - U.S. Armed Forces Button

2011-06-13T09:14:00.000-07:00

All artifacts have their own story about how they were used, when they were thrown away, and how they survived in the ground. Sometimes, however, a single artifact's story of its recovery, documentation, and identification can be a documentary in and of itself. As mentioned earlier, some artifacts are more difficult to identify than others, and much of the fun in archaeology is solving these kinds of mysteries.

This button was recovered from an early 19th century sheet midden that our third trench excavated last week. Artifacts like these can be tricky to identify if their characteristic insignia is partially eroded away, as it is in this example.

After our Principal Investigator Mr. Phillips took the photograph, Brian Mabelitini, our Field Director, consulted some button books that have different examples of U.S. army and navy buttons. Our initial interpretation was that it was a Confederate staff officer's button because it has the eagle and star border motif that those buttons were known to have. However, given that Arcadia was abandoned several years before the civil war began, there would have to be a second occupation to allow for a confederate soldier to discard the button at what became the sheet midden.

Brian then decided to digitally enhance the image to try to get a better idea of what the button was depicting. While it was difficult to see initially, the eagle now appears to be perched atop an anchor! With this in mind, it is possible that the button is actually an early 19th century (War of 1812) U.S. Naval button. This creates an alternative interpretation that fits more seamlessly with what we know about the history of Arcadia, because we have historical evidence that Andrew Jackson's army passed through the Juan de la Rua land grant during the first Seminole War.

As you can see, conflicting interpretations about the same artifact can make it quite difficult to say with certainty where it came from. While we have some plausible ideas, the jury is still out on this one. The button will hopefully tell us more about the person who wore it after the lab gets a chance to conserve and analyze it.

Student Highlight - Joseph Mikos

2011-06-10T07:20:00.000-07:00

Joseph Mikos is a transfer student from Pensacola State College. His interest in archaeology began after taking an Intro course with UWF professor Dr. Ramie Gougeon, and he wants to pursue a career in Cultural Resource Management. He is also interested in working on a Master's degree while studying the archaeology of the American Southwest.

Student Highlight - Jenny McNiven

2011-06-10T07:17:00.001-07:00

Jenny McNiven is a first year graduate student from Albany, New York. Her undergraduate work involved a degree in theater and a degree in archaeology with a concentration in ancient history. Her other experiences include working in the archaeology lab at the Corpus Christi Museum of History and Science, as well as excavation experience at the Fort Lipantitlan late prehistoric site in San Patricio, Texas. In her spare time she performs in local theater, plays piano, and spends time with her husband and three dogs.

Announcement - Public Archaeology Lab

2011-06-07T08:09:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce that Jan Lloyd, the Director of the Archaeology Laboratory at UWF, is holding public archaeology labs for visitors on the following Fridays between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM:
June
10, 17, 24
July
8, 15
Each lab session will be held at the museum building at Arcadia Mill. While the museum is air-conditioned, please prepare for hot weather if you would also like to visit our excavations at Area A.
If you are interested in helping out while seeing some of what we've been excavating this summer, please come by! All ages are welcome, but children will need the supervision of a parent or guardian. We hope to see you there!

Update - Mapping Strata

2011-06-07T07:20:00.000-07:00

Several of our first test units are now complete, so we are opening up additional trenches in pursuit of more architectural features. One frequently asked question is "When do we stop digging?" Archaeologists usually stop at the "subsoil," a stratum that predates human occupation of a site. After excavation, the walls and floor of completed test units are cleaned with trowels one last time, photographed, and mapped (In that order.) Since archaeology is a destructive discipline, it is important to document every observable physical characteristic of the exposed stratigraphy before back-filling each unit. While it may seem odd that we will be filling them in so soon at the end of the season, it helps protect the surrounding proveniences from erosion during the rest of the year.

Our mapping procedures require the use of a level line and a couple of rulers. Instead of measuring down from a surface that can vary from unit to unit, or even within the same unit, we align our rulers perpendicular to the suspended string and use that as the point to measure from. Thanks to this work, our better knowledge of the stratigraphy of Area A is permitting some of our new units to dig in strata rather than arbitrary levels.

I mentioned earlier that digging in 10cm levels is a popular choice, especially in prehistoric sites and sites for which the stratigraphy is unknown. However, now that we have a better idea of the site's stratigraphy, digging in strata has some tempting advantages. Saving time is an obvious first point; since the archaeologist is only looking for when the soil color or composition changes to stop and start a provenience, he or she doesn't have to constantly pause excavation to take elevation measurements to make sure that they aren't digging too deep.

Digging in strata on a site like Arcadia also helps give each provenience a single separate stratum as opposed to having a single provenience include multiple strata. If you're confused, the adjoining image should help explain. This delicious-looking layer cake to the right has an arrangement of "strata" composed of alternating layers of cake and frosting. Let's say we only wanted to eat the cake parts and save the frosting for a friend. If we didn't have any idea of what the cake looked like on the inside, we would be forced to arbitrarily "excavate" (eat) layers until we found the parts of the cake that we want to "separate into proveniences" (his frosting, our cake.) However, if you knew that this particular cake had six evenly-spaced layers of cake and frosting, you would have a much better idea of when to stop eating the cake and skim the frosting off with your fork. To complete this illustration before it makes me any hungrier, the best way to figure all of that out is to cut the cake vertically so that all of the layers are visible. That way you don't have to risk eating any frosting at all (why you would ever want to do something like that is not part of the illustration.)

It's time to talk a little about some of the artifacts that we've been recovering. Our field season this year has been fortunate to find a considerable number of artifacts associated with people's activities.

This iron is remarkably well-preserved. We suspect that one of the artifacts that we've previously excavated and identified as a drawer handle might actually be the handle to this iron. The lab will be on the lookout for a potential cross-mend.

From left to right, we have a burned peach pit, a fragment of a toy marble, a couple of gun flints, a couple of percussion caps, and a possibly decorative metal ring. Personal items like the ring, the marble, and the peach pit give unique insight into the habits of people living in the past by hinting at the sorts of things they ate and how they chose to spend their free time. Since all of these artifacts come from an early 19th century sheet midden, the gun parts suggest that the individuals living at the village were armed.

Student Highlight - Travis Jorgensen

2011-06-01T11:43:00.000-07:00

Travis Jorgensen is an undergraduate Junior at the University of West Florida. He grew up with an interest in Archaeology that caused him to want to sign up for the field school this year. He enjoys scuba diving in his spare time.

Student Highlight - Dani Mount

2011-06-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

Dani Mount is an undergraduate Archaeology Senior at the University of West Florida. She transferred to UWF from Moorpark College in Califoria last year, so she is helping to bring a variety of theoretical perspectives to the crew this season. Her previous field experience includes surveying prehistoric sites in California, and she is excited to work on a site with a strong historic component this year.

Data Visualization with GIS - Part One

2011-05-31T08:21:00.000-07:00

While archaeologists traditionally rely on survey techniques such as shovel testing in order to locate sites, the decision about where to excavate blocks and trenches of test units is not a wild guess. In fact, the ongoing investigation at Arcadia benefits considerably from powerful site-prediction tools and methods designed to get the most out of the data we recover while simultaneously streamlining the interpretive process.

Remember when Indiana Jones said that "We don't follow maps to buried treasure, and X never, ever marks the spot?"
Never, ever listen to what this guy has to say about Archaeology.

The lab at the Archaeology Institute has been sorting and cataloging the artifacts recovered from shovel testing since the first field survey at Arcadia and has built a database that can be queried according to various "typologies." In order to say anything meaningful about the people who lived and worked at the village, it is important that we clearly establish the criteria for sorting and grouping the artifacts that we recover beforehand, so our database is capable of a variety of different approaches. One useful typology is Stanley South's artifact group model, which organizes artifacts according to their basic functions, such as "Kitchen," Personal," or "Architecture." Armed with this data, we can present it in useful ways through Geographic Information Systems software such as ESRI's ArcMap and ArcScene in a technique known as data visualization.

This is a three-dimensional representation of the results of a preliminary statistical model for artifact distribution. The sample data consists of the combined count of all cultural material recovered from Area A shovel tests in 2009, as shown by the triangles. By applying a technique called "interpolation," the software uses a mathematical equation that predicts the artifact counts at any given point in the sample area; Basically, the computer is told to predict what might be in a shovel test before we dig it. This is represented in the diagram both in color (Red means higher counts) and in height.

With the help of maps created with the help of GIS software, deciding where to excavate test units is literally as simple as looking up the locations that contain high predicted counts, cross-checking it with remote sensing anomalies (In both images, they are the red and blue lines,) and laying them out with the total station. Indy never had it this good.

Update - Test Unit Excavation

2011-05-26T08:53:00.000-07:00

This week we began excavating this season's first test units. Excavating test units is more time-consuming than digging shovel tests because a major goal of test unit excavation is to get a better idea of the area's stratigraphy, or soil layering. A basic principle of archaeological investigation is borrowed from Geology and states that new layers are deposited above old ones; as a general rule, the deeper you dig, the farther back in time you go. Therefore, test units need a high level of vertical control, which is a fancy way of saying that we dig with trowels more than we do with shovels and that we separately document each level that we excavate.

Some archaeologists prefer to start a new level whenever the soil composition or color changes, but at Arcadia, we have chosen to excavate in arbitrary 10-centimeter levels. This allows us to maintain a flat test unit floor at all times, which is important for finding stains in the ground that might otherwise have been mistaken for the start of a new level. Any of these stains could be what archaeologists call "features" such as post holes, ditches, drains, burials, trash pits, or hearths. These are assigned a different "provenience" or context number and excavated separately. We are currently excavating one block (1-meter test units in a grid) and two trenches (1-meter test units in a row.) Their locations were chosen according to the results of geophysical techniques such as soil resistivity and gradiometry that we applied last year, along with predictive models based on prior shovel test data as part of a GIS. Later posts will go over these techniques in greater detail.

Here are some of our finds this week.

This lead shot, as you can see, has been fired. Given its association with with period artifacts, it's a safe bet that the people who lived here relied on hunting local animals to supplement their diet. One thing that we find perplexing about this, however, is that other than some oyster shells from our trenches, we aren't finding as many faunal remains as we thought we would. We are on the lookout for disposal areas or middens that would tell us more about what people living here ate.

We couldn't have been happier to find this iron door hinge. While cut nails and bricks are also categorized in the "architectural" group in our database, distinctive items like hinges give us vital hints about where certain elements of a single building like doors and windows might have been. On the right side of the image are two fragments of lead-glazed stoneware, put together to demonstrate that they "cross-mend." Cross-mending ceramics is done in the lab in the off-season to link proveniences to each other archaeologically.

While some artifacts have an immediately apparent function, others can be tougher to identify. This punched metal disc could have been part of a lock, or perhaps a clothing fastener. Even though we aren't sure what this was for, it is nevertheless documented and stored for later identification.

Student Highlight - Paul Gorman

2011-05-25T07:38:00.001-07:00

Paul Gorman is an undergraduate senior at UWF who is majoring in General Anthropology. While he is primarily interested in paleoanthropology, he was interested in our program this year because he wanted to learn about historic archaeology and explore it as a possible career path. He is a fan of metal, post-rock, and science fiction novels.

Student Highlight - Richard Dams

2011-05-25T07:34:00.000-07:00

Richard Dams is an undergraduate junior at UWF who grew up locally and graduated from Pensacola High School in 2009. He is currently pursuing a degree in Terrestrial Archaeology with a minor in Geography. His interests include reading and hiking.

First Week of Field School 2011

2011-05-23T07:50:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the blog for the 2011 Arcadia field school! You are invited to follow along as this year's crew of students learn the principles of field archaeology (some for the very first time) and help the UWF Archaeology Institute gather valuable information about one of 19th century Florida's premier industrial complexes, all while wearing more sun block and mosquito repellent than is probably healthy.

While the 1990 Arcadia investigations documented the structural remains of water-powered industry such as the foundations of the textile mill and sawmill, the 2009, 2010, and 2011 field crews have been building off of a foundational survey conducted in 1988 that located residential deposits in the uplands surrounding Pond Creek. Recovering additional data in this location will give important insights into community organization and economic status among people living and working at the mill. Highlights from previous field schools at Arcadia can be found on the sidebar and include the recovery and documentation of thousands of artifacts from the antebellum period such as medicine bottles, ceramic fragments, pipe bowls, and even leather boot heels. Past crews also discovered brick and local "ironstone" piers that held up a structure or group of structures that potentially housed some of the Mill's workers.

This year's field school aims to continue the efforts of previous years through shovel testing, trenching, block excavation, remote sensing, and digital mapping to locate evidence of additional structures and other features on the landscape such as roads and trash deposits associated with the community. These techniques will help piece together a better idea of what it was like to live and work at Arcadia.

This week began with clearing the underbrush at a location that we call “Area A.” Recent hurricanes have damaged the tree cover in this area, making it possible for smaller plants to turn what was once relatively clear of obstructions into a jungle in a matter of months. This gave the crew plenty of machete practice.

The next task was to add a few reference (or datum) points to the on-site coordinate grid for our total station, a machine used to take precise spatial measurements. While some archaeologists like to use an arbitrary grid for their sites that places a point at “x=1000, y=1000” and references all other points off of that, Arcadia uses the UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) coordinate system that assigns a unique value to every location in a region. While it might take a little longer to label bags and photo boards (UTM Coordinates in this area are seven digits long), this system has the advantage of making the data much easier to put into a digital Geographic Information System (or GIS) for analysis.

Finally, we finished off the week with shovel testing. Archaeologists work from what they know to what they don't know, so we dug 50cm round shovel tests between rows of tests made by earlier field schools just north of a small logging road directly north of Area A. This was done in order to more accurately determine the village's boundaries. A couple of shovel tests had at least one period artifact in them, including a piece of transfer-printed whiteware. One shovel test had a fragment of local "ironstone," a type of sandstone known for its high iron content that gives it a characteristic red color. Since ironstone was not native to area A and had to be cut out of a quarry to the south, this could point to the existence of additional structures in the area. However, there are several negative tests with no cultural material in them, which suggest that one of the boundaries of the village might be the logging road.

Check back later this week for crew member bios, more pictures and some additional details concerning our work this year.

Last-but-not-least Student Highlight! Robin Hardy

2010-08-03T22:08:00.000-07:00

Robin is a student of the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse. This fall she will be entering her senior year in hopes of graduating in the Spring with a Bachelor's in Archaeology, minoring in Anthropology. She's originally from Minnesota and became part of our field school because she plans to go into Maritime archaeology and wanted to take part in both Maritime and Terrestrial experiences.

The time has come

2010-08-03T19:39:00.000-07:00

Alas, all good things must come to an end. Such is the case with our 2010 Arcadia Mills Village field school. All in all, we had a terrific season! We finished three 2x2m (3.3 x 3.3 foot) units, and made significant progress on six more. In total, we moved enough dirt to equal the weight of a school bus! We're all very proud of how quickly our students learned and developed into proficient archaeological field techs. Any one of them would do well in a professional position.

Before I get into the events of our last week, I'd like to show you the results of some of the geophysical surveys done. Unfortunately, the raw GPR and Gradiometer results are quite complicated and need additional processing before they can be interpreted here. I will, however, present to you our soil resistivity results (below).

On the left, are last year's results, and on the right are this year's. The dark bands running in perpendicular lines align nicely with our previously suspected architectural features, and further suggest that there were a number of additional structures in and around the area where our Block 1 and Trench 1 are located. Future work will prove just what these variously resistive soils indicate.

The crew spent much of the last week rushing about, making final maps (left) and preparing for final pictures (right). All this tedious work is in an effort to document exactly how our units looked before we filled them back in. For some units (units 4, 5, and 6), this documentation will mark the final glimpses of what the units' whole picture looked like. Those three units are now completed and will not be uncovered next year. For the rest (units 3 and 12 in Block 1 and units 13, 14, 15, and 16 in Trench 1), these maps and photos will give next year's archaeologists an idea of what was discovered during the 2010 season before work in the 2011 season begins.

These two photos below show just how far we excavated in Block 1 this year. On the left is a shot of Block 1 taken 20 May 2010. On the right is the final picture of the Block taken on 22 July 2010.

It's remarkable how far we got! Well done, 2010 Arcadia Crew!

Finally, it was time for backfilling. We lined the unfinished units with gardener's filter cloth to protect and delineate the exposed surfaces, then filled in the units from our mountainous backdirt pile. Before filling in the finished units, we tossed 2009 and 2010 pennies into the sterile bottoms. This was to create a new terminus post quem. This is a Latin term used by archaeologists meaning "time after which." This will show future (possibly very distantly into the future) researchers that past archaeologists have disturbed those sediments, and anything found therein is likely of a very disturbed context.

And then it was finished. (Except for the months of labwork, of course...)

I'd like to thank our two crews of rotating maritime/combo students and our steadfast core of solid terrestrial students for being archaeological rockstars. I'd like to thank my awesome supervisors Tara Giuliano, Kad Henderson, and Andrew Christensen for their wonderful support. We also have to recognize the fine efforts of our fearless leader, Mr. John Phillips, and the overwhelming and obliging hospitality of the Arcadia Mill staff. This has been a wonderful and rewarding experience, and I'm glad I've been able to share it with you!

Thanks for reading!

Melissa Timo

Graduate Director-in-Training

Arcadia Mills Village 2010 Field School

Student Highlight! Bob Rutledge

2010-08-03T19:30:00.000-07:00

Bob retired from a career in social services and continue to operate rental properties in his hometown of Bemidji, Minnesota. He has a BA from the University there. His training in chemistry and biology dovetailed nicely with his interests in the history of human evolution and cultural development. He's returned to school as a senior in anthropology. Bob plans to work toward a MA with a dual focus on maritime and terrestrial archaeology. He expects to spend his future traveling the world, from project to project, experiencing a wide range of cultures and environments along the way.

Student Hightlight! David Hodo

2010-07-21T20:21:00.000-07:00

David retired from the U.S. Army Reserve in 1996 and the Little Rock, Arkansas Police Department in 1999. From 1999 until 2000, David visited and studied archaeology sites and institutions in the Middle East, Mediterranean, and Europe. He became an online and on-campus student in the UWF Maritime Studies Program in August 2008. Last summer, David excavated in Bylazora, Macedonia with the Texas Foundation for Archaeology and Historical Research. He is currently in UWF Combined Maritime and Terrestrial Field Schools.

Student Highlight! Thomas Kirkland

2010-07-18T16:24:00.000-07:00

Kirk left Auburn University School of Business in his sophomore year. He earned his six pack captain's license in 2006. He worked in the parasail industry in Panama City Beach as a captain until 2009. Kirk began attending University of West Florida in the fall of 2009 for a bachelors degree in Maritime Studies. He would like to go to graduate school at UWF for a masters in Historical Anthropology. After graduating Kirk would like to get a job with a government agency doing some sort of archaeological or coastal zone management job.

Like sand though the shaker screens, these are the days of our lives

2010-07-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

Things have truly kicked into high gear on the site! We're down to six open units and a ton of dirt yet to move!

In our block (left), a number of complicated brick features in Units 3 and 12 have been recorded and removed at long last. This means that digging should proceed much more smoothly.

Also this week we said good-bye to the large metal plate that spanned the southern corners of Units 3 and 12. Unfortunately, after being exposed on and off for two field seasons, the plate's integrity did not hold. We managed to salvage and transport the pieces as intact as possible.

This, of course, did not mean that the archaeological fun stopped once the brick and metal plate were gone. Along the east wall of Unit 12 Salina Hebert and Melissa Timo discovered yet another sandstone block. This smaller block is at a different elevation than the others discovered. Does this mean that it's from another building? Another, later floor support? A victim of the building(s)'s destruction? Only time and future work will tell.

In the trench south of Block 1 (above, right), Kad Henderson and his students have reached the bottom of the tree fall disturbance. They now finding intact deposits that have produced a number of interesting artifacts, including writing slate pieces and our ninth pipebowl (below, left).

Unfortunately, our time is nearly up. Next week is our last week, and it will be filled with all those things that need to happen to put a site "to bed," so to speak. These will include extensive mapping and end of excavation photographs, inventorying and returning equipment, and backfilling the nearly 18 cubic meters (nearly 60 cubic feet!) of dirt we removed and screened this year into the excavated units to protect them until the next field season.

Stay tuned for the frenzy!

Student Highlight! Shane McDonald

2010-07-18T10:16:00.000-07:00

Shane is majoring in Anthropology with a specialization in Archaeology. He graduated from Wewahitchka High in 2006. Although he has lived all over the US due to being from a military family, Wewa is where home is. Fall 2010 begins his senior year at UWF, and his future aspirations are high. Vote for him as presidential candidate in 2024!

Picking up the pace

2010-07-10T18:39:00.000-07:00

As we headed into this past week, it was with the knowledge that time is slipping away! We still have a lot to finish before the end.

In Unit 12, student Salina Hebert and director in training Melissa Timo excavated a proposed dripline. The trench-like feature only contained larger-sized objects like whole oyster shell, bowl bases, free-blown bottle base (right), and this large fragment of a plate with a printed pattern Salina is modelling (left). If this feature is in fact a dripline, these artifact make sense. Water passing through the dripline wouldn't be able to wash away such heavy artifacts.

In other news, we've finished another unit! In order to deem a unit "finished," archaeologists must determine that they have reached the end of cultural deposits. To be sure, UWF archaeologists will excavate two more 10 cm levels down. Eariler Euro-American, or even Native American, deposits can sometimes lie beneath predicted cultural remains, unbeknownst to even the most well-researched archaeologist!

Because the construction or occupation midden features ran deep in Unit 6, excavators couldn't call it quits for a full meter (3.3 feet)! Below is a picture of Tara Giuliano, supervisor of the students working in Unit 6. At 5'2," Tara had to improve her vertical jump just to get out!

Finally, on Thursday we completed our last bit of geophysical survey. This time Sarah Mitchell was back with the ground penetrating radar (GPR) equipment. Unlike x-ray, the GPR sends radar a meter into the ground, which reflects back and reveals disturbances underground. In addition to archaeologists, this machinery is commonly used by utilities workers. See the video below for how a GPR runs. The machine must be kept level and flat on the ground, which was difficult to do with the ruts and stumps on the site.

Student Highlight! Meagan Rea

2010-07-10T18:23:00.000-07:00

Meagan Rea is a Senior in the Archaeology department at the University of West Florida. She is interested in historical archaeology with a focus in African American archaeology. She is hoping to continue on the graduate school and eventually completing her Doctorate.

Student Highlight! Jeanette Scadlock

2010-07-05T18:42:00.000-07:00

Jeanette is a senior at the University of Central Florida majoring in Anthropology, with a minor in Film. Her ambitions as an archaeologist are to study piracy in China during the Ming dynasty in the South China Sea or during the Golden Age of Piracy in the Caribbean. She would also like to study the historical archaeology of the Eastern Asian or the Polynesian Island nations. Jeanette's goal is to be scuba certified within the next five years. Outside of archaeology, she loves to read adventure and crime novels and has spent the last three years working on a television show pilot.

Crossing the line

2010-07-03T22:59:00.000-07:00

This year the students taking UWF's terrestrial field schools got a great opportunity to see the different techniques and research designs employed at both of the terrestrial field schools.

On Thursday the crew from Molino, as well as P.I.s Dr. John Worth and Ms. Norma Harris came to Arcadia. On the right, you can see Arcadia Principle Investigator, Mr. John Phillips, explaining the water-powered milling done at the Arcadia Mill industrial complex during the first half of the nineteenth century.

Below, Ms. Harris and UWF grad student Linda Suzanne Borgen ponder our block, while the Arcadia and Molino crews swap tales and catch up.

On Friday morning, the Arcadia crew headed out to Molino. The Pensacola Colonial Frontiers field school is examining the remains of the Spanish Mission San Joseph de Escambe along the Escambia River, near Molino, Florida. This site not only includes evidence from the 18th Century Spanish and Apalachee Native American populations, but the previous. prehistoric residents as well.

The Arcadia students got to see how these student archaeologists employed a number of new techniques to study a considerably different data set. On the left, you can see Arcadia students checking out prehistoric stone tools and Native American ceramics.

The Molino crew's site has a complicated occupation. The graduate student supervisors explained how they had attempted to tease apart and isolate a number of overlapping buildings.

After showing us the uncovered mission components- including a soldiers' barracks, a possible well, and Mission-period and prehistoric-period Native American dwellings -Dr. Worth took the crew to the Escamia River to explain its importance for the mission, as well as for later nineteenth-century milling ventures. Unlike Arcadia's mills, the only evidence for the late 19th century mill dynamited at the Molino site in the 1930's is a bevy of discarded Gonzales-manufactured bricks and the large, granite blocks used to mount the mill's steam engines.

We are quite grateful to Dr. Worth, Ms. Harris and the supervisors and crew of the Molino crew for hosting us. It was great to see all the hard work they've completed this summer and we hope they learned a little about archaeology from us!

Here, Molino supervisor Danielle Dadiego attempts to explain the complicated series of architectural and occupation features she and her crew uncovered in this trench.

That's all for now. Hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing Fourth of July Weekend!

Student Highlight! Becky Jadallah

2010-07-03T22:45:00.000-07:00

Becky is a returning student with a previous B.A. from UWF in Education. She is presently a senior seeking a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and is looking forward to beginning her Anthropology M.A. at UWF. She is interested in artifact preservation, historical archaeology, and prehistoric archaeology. She is excited to be part of the UWF 2010 Arcadia Mill Village Terrestrial Field School.

Alex Attacks!

2010-07-03T21:38:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, Hurricane Alex in the Gulf had us ducking for cover all week long! Luckily for us, the rain stayed away just long enough for us to make some new discoveries and open a new trench. Right is one of the many bricks found in Unit 12- this one had a Bonifay maker's mark stamped into its surface.

While finishing a level in Unit 12 and preparing Unit 3 for excavation, we noticed a new feature. In this picture below, notice the light colored line along the far right in the right hand unit. After conferring with our P.I., John Phillips, we believe that we might have a dripline! A dripline is made when water runs off a gutter-less roof and washes light-weight sediments away. This process leaves a coarse, pebbly line that differs considerably from the sediments outside of it. Finding a dripline helps us identify the orientation, and perhaps even the roofline style of the building (or buildings) we're studying!

Colors have been enhanced so that the dripline is more easily discernible.

Finally, on Wednesday and Thursday we worked on opening our first Trench (left). Trench 1 consists of four adjacent 1 meter by 1 meter units several meters south of Block 1. This trench bisects a large, very artifact rich tree fall. Although the top several levels will be highly disturbed because of said tree fall, we hope to find intact midden (or garbage dump). Nothing tells more about people from the past than the things they threw away!

We've already recovered diagnostic ceramics and a piece of writing slate. We're excited to see what lies under the treefall!

Student Highlight! Salina Hebert

2010-07-03T21:30:00.001-07:00

Salina is an undergraduate student at UWF majoring in archaeology. She has been interested in archaeology since a very young age. She is interested in prehistoric southeastern archaeology. Salina plans on pursuing a master's degree and eventually getting a doctorate in archaeology.

Holy Productivity!

2010-06-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, our resident geophysical expert, UWF graduate student Sarah Mitchell, was back out at Arcadia. She had previously come out a month ago to run the resistivity machine through our site. While the findings were indeed interesting, Sarah and our Principle Investigator, John Phillips thought that giving UWF's other geophysical equipment a shot would give us a clearer picture of the archaeological materials beneath our feet. It's also a fantastic opportunity for students to be exposed to high tech archaeological methodologies that they may not have a chance to use in the regular Cultural Resource Management world.

This time, Sarah brought out the gradiometer- a machine that creates an artificial magnetic field in order to measure the interaction of environmental electrostatic fields and gradients in a tested area. On the left, Sarah quickly walks the gradiometer along our established grid in order to obtain the most scientifically regulated results. If you notice, Sarah is wearing track pants and a simple cotton t-shirt. Although this is not standard field wear, there is an important reason for such an outfit! Any metal- from big things like cars and powerlines to little things like grommets, zippers, and steel toed boots can skew or ruin the gradiometer's readings. Nevertheless, most of our well-equipped crew had to watch this survey from deep behind the treeline!

We eagerly await the results!

Sarah will return next week to complete the gradiometer survey, as well as preform a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey of an architecture feature-rich portion of our Area A.

Today was also a productive day. We completed a number of exploratory shovel tests in Area A in our search for additional architectural features. Also, in our newest open unit 12, students working there uncovered a number of interesting finds! On the right, student Shane McDonald holds our first whole bottle! It's a pharmaceutical bottle with a hand applied lip and pontil mark on the base. The bottle is embossed with the name for a hair restorer and skin tonic dating back to the 1860's. These patent medicines (also known as 'snake oil') usually did more harm than good with ingredients like alcohol and cocaine, but were very popular throughout the nineteenth-century as Americans became more trusting of the scientific pursuits of the medical field.

In addition to the whole bottle, students in the same unit found a nearly whole pipebowl (left). This marks our seventh pipebowl of the season, each with a unique design. It's certainly becoming clear how the people who lived on the site spent their free time!

Student Highlight! Trey Ropelis

2010-06-22T18:54:00.000-07:00

Trey is an undergraduate senior majoring in General Anthropology. He has lived all over the U.S., but has spent most of his life in Idaho. He came to UWF with no clue of what he'd be majoring in, but after one intro to anthropology course with Dr. Spradley, he was hooked. This is his final semester before he graduates and he hopes to find a job in the National Park Service after he's done with field school.

Switch!

2010-06-22T17:19:00.000-07:00

This week marks the beginning of the second half of the summer field season. This means a lineup change! Last week was the end of Amanda, Capri, Eric, Peter, and Lynne's terrestrial field school and the beginning of their maritime. They all have developed into excellent terrestial archaeologists and good friends and we'll miss having them around the site.

On the right, student Eric Bezemek shovel shaves around architectural features in Unit 6.

By the end of last week and the beginning of this, these departing students were able to wrap up any loose ties for the units and features they've been working on. So far they were able to help the Arcadia field school finish two and a half units, open a new (and very productive) unit, complete sixteen features, nine shovel tests, and recover several hundred bags of artifacts!

On the left, students Amanda Dahlberg and Shane McDonald finish the wall profiles after the completion of Unit 4.

On Friday and this past Monday, students worked on a number of shovel tests north of our current Block 1 in Area A. These shovel tests were set to explore the area for additional architectural sandstone or brick features. Students uncovered two new cut sandstone blocks that have served to deepen the mystery of the nature of our structure. Is it only one large building? Several small, adjacent buildings? On small building with a number of additions? Further analysis of the features and artifacts discovered (and lots more work to be completed) will help us pinpoint the truth!

We've had an outstanding first half! We're so proud of our students and how they've advanced their knowledge and practice of archaeological techniques. We've both answered and generated a ton of interesting questions about the inhabitant of this structure (or structures!). Only time will tell what the second half will bring.

And lastly, on Monday, the last day for the Arcadia first half combo students, the crew decided to celebrate by jumping in Pond Creek to cool off! Definitely a well-deserved reward at the end of a long, hot five weeks.

Student Highlight! Amanda Dahlberg

2010-06-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

Amanda Dahlberg is a senior at UWF pursuing a degree in archaeology with a minor in maritime studies. She is originally from Sarasota, FL and came to UWF to participate in the maritime archaeology program. After she is finished with her time here at Arcadia she will be embarking on the maritime field school for 5 weeks, she can't wait to learn more archaeology skills while SCUBA diving!

The Floridian Summer strikes!

2010-06-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

This week has opened with record high temperatures for this field season. Although it's not even officially summer, the students (particularly the out-of-state students and supervisors) are learning how to function in the heat. Already this week, the students have finished two of our 2m by 2m units and as well as documented and excavated a feature and removed a level. If this heat and humidity can't stop the Arcadia crew, nothing can!

Today, half of our students got a chance to participate in phase I survey work. Five of our students (Peter Sittig, Amanda Dahlberg, Lynne Fobian, Capri Wright, and Eric Bezemek) accompanied supervisor Andrew Christensen and consultant Elizabeth Murphy headed over to Area D to reexamine this intriguing part of the Arcadia Mills property.

Last year, students preformed a controlled surface collection and completed a number of systematic shovel tests to explore the small upland parcel for the evidence domestic occupation. Our work last year uncovered a number of different kinds of artifacts that prompted us to come back this year. So far, students excavated six shovel tests, all but one of which were positive. We plan to do more work in this area to figure out just what is going on! Stay tuned for the results.

Student Highlight! Lynne Fobian

2010-06-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

Lynne Fobian is a senior majoring in General Anthropology for her second Bachelors at the University of West Florida. She is attending the combination field school to help further her experience in Archaeology. Her future goal: to be a Famous Maritime Archaeologist.

Fantastic Friday

2010-06-15T17:34:00.000-07:00

Last week wrapped up on an especially high note. Work progressed beautifully on finishing the our block. In Unit 6 our fifth pipebowl was found. As a specially added bonus- it was whole! This is just one more puzzle piece in the daily lives of the residents of our domestic structure.

Our new unit (Unit 12) was also pleasantly productive last Friday. We found a number of interesting artifacts in a feature, part of which was excavated last summer. In addition to a high percentage of fasteners (both nails and spikes), a large number of personal and domestic artifacts were recovered. These included two leather boot heels (left), buttons, green glass drawer pulls, and hooks and eyes for clothing closures. These personal items give us a tangible connection to those who've enjoyed the Arcadia complex long before us.

Other exciting finds within this feature are a large metal plate 50cm x 30cm (approximately 20 in x 12 in) perhaps from a stove or a piece of machinery, as well as half a dinner plate. Additional fragments of the plate were recovered this past Monday and the students working on that unit quickly identified a partial maker's mark! Hopefully this mark will help us place a more narrow time bracket for the period of occupation of this site. Below you can see an in-progress shot of this awesome feature as it appears straddling two units. Notice the large metal plate on the left and the dinner plate on the right.

Lastly, on the right you can see field school student Peter Sittig excavating the feature above. We were quite pleased to find such a large piece of ceramic. It's definitely one of the biggest pieces recovered in the past two seasons.

Student Highlight!: Peter Sittig

2010-06-15T16:52:00.000-07:00

Peter Sittig graduated this past May from the State University of New York at Oswego in central New York with a B.Sc. in Anthropology. His interests include maritime and terrestrial archaeological endeavors, as well as downhill skiing, kayaking, and being outdoors. Recently, Peter participated in the archaeological survey of Wartenick Wells, an island port of the Exuma Cays National Park in the Bahamas.

Student Highlight! Capri Wright

2010-06-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

Capri Wright is an undergraduate senior at UWF pursuing a degree in Archaeology. She has also attended two other universities, University of Nevada-Las Vegas and University of Montana. She hopes to continue her education with UWF as a graduate student next year. Capri will be participating in the Maritime Field School as well this summer.

Great Week!

2010-06-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

After such a long and rainy week, the Arcadia crew was excited to get back to work! In order to keep things fresh, the students get to join new crews and work in new areas of the block. As expected, the students weren't phased a bit by the jumble.

Here, Trey (left) tries his hand at excavating a builder's trench feature.

Progress on Block 1 continues smoothly. Two of the 2m by 2m units are nearly will be completed by early this week. The students also got an opportunity to employ their high school geometry. They learned how using the Pythagorean theorem to make a perfect square is much more easy in theory than in practice. Nevertheless, two brand new units were put in along the east end of Block 1. Students Capri Wright, Lynne Fobian, and Peter Sittig got to open the first brand new unit of the season. Unit 12 was almost immediately productive.

Here you can see student Capri Wright (right) uncovering a large metal strap or latch. We hope that this unit can help us answer previously established questions about the nature of the structure or structures we are revealing, as well as the daily lives of those who lived in it.

Student Highlight! Eric Bezemek

2010-06-13T19:41:00.001-07:00

Eric is a senior at University of West Florida, majoring in archaeology. He is originally from Michigan, where he spent a great deal of time diving on the pristine shipwrecks of the Great Lakes. He moved to Florida after a 11 and a half year stint in the Navy to pursue a degree in maritime archaeology. After receiving his BA Eric intends to attend graduate school to further his education in maritime archaeology.

Wash out

2010-06-06T19:37:00.000-07:00

It does seem as though our plans were overly ambitious. Heavy rains tormented us all week.

On Wdnesday the crew listened to the research presentation of UWF professor candidate Jennifer McKinnon. Following this early morning meeting, weather outlets overwhelmingly predicted imminent doom. In order to spare the crew another soaking, we all headed downtown to tour the Destination! Archaeology Resource Center housed in FPAN's building. Here, the students were able to take a "road trip" through Florida's archaeological and historical resources.

After that, the crew headed over to visit the T. T. Wentworth, Jr. Florida State Museum. This was an excellent opportunity for all of the students (especially the out-of-towners) to learn all about Pensacola's historic and archaeological past. On the left, you can see a herd of elusive archaeologists outside their natural habitat.

Students were able to learn about Pensacola's earliest prehistoric inhabitants, Spanish, British, French, and American occupants, Pensacola Bay's shipwrecks, and about the eclectic character known as T. T. Wentworth, Jr.

Above, you can see our UWF archaeologists admiring an exhibit about UWF archaeologists.

Finally, on Friday we were able to have our first full day of field work for the week! The students gainfully returned to their posts excavating levels and features. On the right, Trey Ropelis excavates a builder's trench features using a spoon to get into a tight spot.

At the end of the day, the students learned how to use the Pythagorean theorem to set in two new 2 meter by 2 meter units adjacent to the east side of Block 1. We will be photographing and mapping these two one Monday before beginning with excavation.

These two new units are particularly promising, because they will more than likely contain the unexcavated portions of a number of artifact rich, archaeologically interesting features. Likewise, there have been tempting views of a number of large artifacts in the walls that we will finally be able to remove for study after having identified them a whole year ago.

Check back in the next couple of days to monitor our progress!

Rain!

2010-06-01T19:03:00.000-07:00

We're making excellent progress towards completing the units in Block 1! Of the four 2m x 2m units, two are nearly complete. Unit 6 in the block's northwest corner has proven to be a complicated mix of fill- and construction-type features that the students have had to use their best archaeological skills to figure out. Here (left), students Meagan Rhea and Amanda Dahlberg display yet another pipebowl fragment recovered (this time with a maker's stamp!) and the saucer that had been teasing us since Week 1.

Unfortunately, rain has plagued the last two weeks, hampering our thus-far awesome progress. Last Wednesday, the crew got caught in a torrential downpour! The students were able to quickly protect the exposed archaeological remains and paperwork, sometimes at the expense of their own personal belongings!

Here (above) the crew recovers from last week's deluge.

After a nice, relaxing Memorial Day weekend, the crew was anxious to get back to work. We hope to expand Block 1 east to chase some rather awesome, artifact rich features. The features, seen in Unit 3, Unit 5, and Unit 6 of Block 1, have contained dense concentration of domestic and personal artifacts that are informing us about the types of people that occupied the house over time and who worked in the Arcadia complex.

Unfortunately, today we weren't able to make the progress we'd hoped. We did manage to get in a few photos. Here (right), Trey Ropelis and Meagan Rhea show off their crazy photo prep skills: They managed to not only shade the unit for the photo by elevating the tent, but keep creatively keep their feet out of the shot, as well!

At promptly 10:45 am thunder rolled in. We managed to eke out a bit more work before it became abundantly obvious that all hope was lost. Fortunately, unlike during last week's storm, we made it back to the Visitor's Center before becoming well and thoroughly soaked.

After lunch, students got a chance to learn how to assemble and prepare our Sokkia Total Station unit. This is a surveying machine we use to make accurate and thorough site maps, as well as record elevations. The students found out it is far trickier to get the Total Station perfectly level than one might think. Here (left) Salina Hebert and Meagan Rhea give it a try.

Though the ten-day forecast doesn't look too promising, the Arcadia students will be doing their best to squeeze in what little work we can manage to between the raindrops. Check back soon to see how overly ambitious this plan turns out to be!

Geophysical

2010-05-24T18:11:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-05-22T21:35:00.000-07:00

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!

Student Highlight of the Week- MARISA FOSTER

2009-08-05T16:40:00.000-07:00

Marisa Foster is an undergraduate student at UWF majoring in Maritime Studies. Originally from Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, her interest in the underwater world started early. Marisa is soon to be a graduate student working toward a master's in Anthropology. She is in the process of acquiring her captain's license and becoming a certified dive master.

Last week of Field School

2009-08-05T16:27:00.001-07:00

We are nearing the end of the summer 2009 field season at Arcadia Mill. All of the 1x1 meter and 1x2 meter units have been documented and backfilled! We are using the last few days of field school to document our Block 1 excavations by photographing and mapping each unit as well as the block as a whole.

We have taken several wide-angle photographs of the entire block as well as individual unit photographs. It is very important to document all of the profiles/stratigraphy (sides) as well as the plan view perspective (floor) for each unit.

We have found some very neat artifacts and pictures are soon to come! The block yielded many personal items including eating utensils, buttons, pipe bowls, and pipe stems. Check the blog again soon for artifact photos and a comprehensive analysis of the excavation results!

Student Highlight of the Week- AMELIA EASTERLING

2009-08-02T20:12:00.000-07:00

Amelia received an Anthropology B.A. from the University of South Alabama in 2008. She particpated in the excavations at Ft. Mims and Old Mobile during the USA's 2008 spring field school. Currently, Amelia is a second year graduate student pursuing an Anthropology M.A. at the University of West Florida. Her interest is in Precolumbian archaeology and she plans to study a Santa Rosa-Swift Creek shell ring for her thesis.

Student Highlight of the Week- BILL BROWN

2009-07-28T17:29:00.000-07:00

Bill is a 42 year old returning student with a previous BA in social work. He is a senior seeking a BA in general anthropology. He's an active member of the SCA following an 11th century Spanish refugee persona. He's mostly interested in early colonization of Spanish Florida. He intends on pursuing a Masters with a heavy emphasis on GIS map applications.

Artifact Density Analysis

2009-07-28T17:02:00.000-07:00

The maps below represent the architectural and ceramic distributions for the Area A-10 meter interval shovel tests. The highest concentrations for both architectural artifacts and ceramics are located within the general vicinity of Block 1, Units 3-6 (pictured in previous blog update). The shovel test data corresponds very well with the placement of Block 1. The locations of the sandstone structural features and artifact concentrations (using both shovel test and unit data) suggest that we have located the interior and exterior of a residence.

The architectural concentrations clearly surround the exterior of the structure (outside the sandstone corner features). Ceramic concentrations occurred in both the exterior and interior areas of the proposed structure.

Architecture

Ceramics

Student Highlight of the Week- JENNY OWEN

2009-07-28T16:50:00.000-07:00

Jenny is a senior majoring in biological anthropology at the University of West Florida. She is particularly interested in the pathologies associated with industrialization and she plans to pursue a career in bioarchaeology.

Structural Features

2009-07-26T10:54:00.000-07:00

We have opened all of Block 1, which consists of Units 3-6. Since opening all four units, we have exposed many more bricks and structural features. It appears that we have remnants of a chimney along with the adjacent chimney-fall, which has a very dark, ashy appearance.

The above photo shows Block 1, Unit 3 after all of the structural features were exposed. This shows a somewhat square shape to the articulated bricks and brick rubble.

The above photo shows Block 1 (bottom of level 1, 0-10 centimeters below surface). This photo displays the chimney remnants along with the chimney fall in the upper right 1/4 of the block.

Block 1 has yielded several features that we will begin removing after the overall Block 1 map is complete. Block 1 has yielded numerous artifacts including several types of ceramics, bottle and window glass, a spoon bowl (sans handle), a turpentine tool, pencil lead and a black- glass faceted cuff link or button. We are very excited to continue excavations in this area!

We have exposed several different pieces of sandstone in this area, which were likely used as piers or cornerstones for a structure. We have identified two sandstone slabs that are in aligment with eachother. Sandstone does not occur naturally in this area of the site though sandstone was readily available from a large outcropping located near the museum. The above photo shows the two sandstone slabs (one on the far right side of the photo and one on the far left).

Along with Block 1 we have also excavated several 1x2 meter units. Units 1-2 and 7-9 have been completely excavated and documented. We have begun backfilling these units so we can focus more attention on Block 1. We opened Unit 10, 1x1 meter, (shown to the left) over a partially exposed sandstone feature, which is located within a tree-fall depression. Based on the resistivity data, it appears that this sandstone feature may be the anomaly identified in this area of the grid.

We have been lucky to have plenty of visitors recently! Dr. Matt Clavin, UWF History Department, has brought out two different groups of teachers from all over the country. The teachers are participating in a workshop about African-American history. We've also had visitors from our very own UWF Archaeology Institute! We have two weeks left before field school officially ends, so if you can't make it out to see us please continue to follow our progress here on the blog!!!

Unit and Block excavation

2009-07-15T18:15:00.000-07:00

We have completed our first two 1 x 2 meter units (Units 1 and 2), which are located outside of the geophysical grid. We received our resistivity results and have since opened several 1 x 2 meter units and one 4 x4 meter block excavation unit. The resistivity results show two anomalies within the 20 meter by 40 meter area. One of these anomalies is in an area of known surface and sub-surface bricks. We systematically probed the area and located numerous sub-surface bricks. The photo to the right shows the southeast quad (southeast 1/4 of Unit 3 (1 x 1 meter)) with several exposed bricks.

We also opened the northwest and southwest quads (Unit 3) and exposed even more bricks and fasteners. It appears that the bricks are in a circular pattern, however there is a small upturned tree that may have influenced their pattern. The circular pattern paired with the upturn tree suggests that the the tree fall actually pulled the bricks upward creating a circular pattern. The systematic probing suggests that there are bricks located beneath this disturbed tree fall.

In total, we have opened nine units and excavated two to subsoil. We are opening many 1 x 2 meter units throughout this area in hopes of identifying more structures. The bricks in Unit 3 are considered a structural feature complex, which likely represent a pier or some other type of residential structural element. We plan to continue opening units in hopes of identifying more structural features and domestic assemblages.

Student Highlight of the Week-JOHN NUCKOLS

2009-07-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

John was born in Lexington, KY and raised in Laporte, CO. He is a senior undergraduate majoring in general anthropology at the University of West Florida. He also studied at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. He enjoys outdoor activities and speaks several languages. He hopes to incorporate his foreign language skills and other talents into his upcoming degree.

Geophysical survey and excavation units

2009-07-04T13:16:00.000-07:00

We had a particularly busy week of geophysical survey and opening up excavation units. Once all of the clearing was complete, we decided to conduct a resistivity survey in Area A of the site. Dr. Victor Thompson, University of West Florida, came out and conducted a resistivity survey in two 20 meter by 20 meter grids. We set up the resistivity grid by shooting in the corners with a total station so we could make sure we had perfect 20 meter by 20 meter squares. The students then staked-in meter tapes that created lanes for the resistivity machine (shown here).

The geophysical survey went very well considering the rough terrain of Area A. We decided against Ground Penetrating Radar because the rough terrain and abundant roots would negatively affect the data.

After the geophysical survey, we set up two 1 meter by 2 meter units to excavate. Though we haven't received the geophysical results, we wanted to open two small units so the combination students could experience unit excavation before they switch to maritime field school on Monday, July 6th.

On Friday, we got to the bottom of level 1 in both units. The units are dug in 10 cm arbitrary levels by shovel shaving with a square shovel. Unit 1 yielded lots of artifacts including a large number of whiteware sherds, metal, brick fragments, and glass fragments. Shown to the left, a pearlware plate base that was recovered in level 1 of Unit 1.

Unit 2 was started later in the day so we managed to get the root mat off by the end of work hours. We are excited to continue excavating and see what we find! We are within the area of domestic concentrations, so we hope to find plenty more ceramics, glass, and building materials!

Student Highlight of the Week- KATHRYN ANN KING

2009-07-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

Kathryn is currently a senior, majoring in archaeology at the University of West Florida. She is most interested in historical archaeology with a focus on Colonial America. She is also interested in prehistoric archaeology, Incan and Myan cultures, and Egyptian culture. She plans to pursue graduate school for a masters in cultural anthropology and possibly a doctorate.

Return to Area A

2009-06-28T13:56:00.000-07:00

Once the surface collection and shovel testing was complete in Area D, we returned to Area A to pick up where we left off. The students completed the 56 shovel tests at 10 meter intervals, lending to an overall total of 166 completed shovel tests for the survey portion of field school.

The 10 meter interval shovel tests provided additional artifacts and spatial data to better understand what is going on this area. The data suggests that we have multiple households especially due to the variation and spatial distribution of artifacts. Once the shovel tests were complete, we began clearing to conduct geophysical survey. Geophysical survey is a non-intrusive tool for investigating sub-surface archaeological features. We will be conducting resistivity and ground-penetrating radar surveys in hopes to delineate sub-surface structural features.

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. The photo to the left shows a resistivity meter.

Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) involves an antenna which sends out electromagnetic pulses into the ground, which reflect off objects and are picked up again by a receiving antenna. The photo to the right shows the antenna for a GPR unit.

Friday, June 19th we spent all day clearing a 20 meter by 20 meter area within the artifact concentration to prepare for geophysical survey. In order to get the best data, we must clear an adjacent 20 meter by 2o meter area to conduct geophysical survey on a 40 meter by 40 meter grid. Our excavation plans will be based on the geophysical survey in combination with the artifact data from the shovel test survey.

AREA D

2009-06-28T13:31:00.000-07:00

The students completed the controlled surface collection along with seven square shovel tests in Area D. The first step to the surface collection was to clean off each 2 meter by 2 meter unit in order to improve surface visibility. The students then conducted a controlled surface collection in each 2 meter by 2 meter unit.

The controlled surface collection yielded window and bottle glass fragments, ceramics, metal, brick fragments, mortar, sandstone fragments, and slag. The photo below shows a sizable brick fragment located right next to two cut nails. The bottom nail showed minimal signs of corosion, suggesting that it was high-fired or fired multiple times. The above nail or one closest to the brick was highly coroded, displaying the difference between well-preserved and not.

After the controlled surface collection, the students dug seven square shovel tests in 5 meter intervals. The square shovel tests gave the students an introdution to unit excavation including digging by levels and photocleaning. This area appears to have a loose, gray weather-deposited layer approximately 0-30 centimeters below surface (cmbs). We found artifacts below 30 cmbs including ceramics, olive glass fragments, metal, fasteners and brick fragments.

We managed to complete six of the seven shovel tests before a strong thunderstorm rolled in. The seventh shovel test was finished the next day, completing all planned shovel tests for Area D.

Student Highlight of the Week- CHAD M. GULSETH

2009-06-28T13:26:00.000-07:00

Chad is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, where he is majoring in archaeology and minoring in anthropology. Chad has a passion for historical and maritime archaeology. The University of West Florida is offering Chad a chance to participate in a combined field school where he can study both areas of interest in one summer. After graduation next spring, Chad plans on attending graduate school before starting his career as a professional archaeologist.

The survey continues

2009-06-21T13:14:00.001-07:00

We are completing the last portion of our shovel test survey this upcoming week. We have gone back to our 20 meter shovel test transects and added 56 shovel tests at 10 meter intervals. Once the 10 meter shovel tests are completed, we will have a better idea of boundaries for this positive area. We will compile the data from this area (Area A) and attempt to delineate whether we have a single household or multiple residences.

We also investigated a new area (Area C), which is located on a sandy, upland landform. We completed 15 shovel tests at 10 meter intervals along with several judgmental shovel tests. The shovel tests did not yield domestic artifacts as we expected, but we have other promising areas to investigate!

Some of the students exercised their transit knowledge and set up a 10 meter by 10 meter grid in an area south of Pond Creek (Area D). This area has a high density surface scatter including brick fragments, sandstone fragments (sometimes used for building materials), window glass, cut nails, ceramics, metal, and slag. We set up a grid for controlled surface collection, which we will complete this week. We are also hoping to utilize geophysical survey in this area to better understand what is going on beneath the surface.

The photo to the right is hard to see, but we have a 10 meter by 10 meter grid layed out with stakes and pink string.

Stayed tuned for more information and photographs regarding Area D!

Student Highlight of the Week- JOHN NICHOLLS

2009-06-21T13:03:00.000-07:00

John Nicholls graduated from the University of West Florida in 2000 with a B.A. in History. He is married and is blessed with a four year old daughter. He is the owner of a small custom cabinet business. He is glad to be a part of the Arcadia field school this summer.

2009-06-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

We are moving right along with our survey excavations! To date, the students have dug approximately 70 shovel tests. We have quickly covered our survey area, though we are always finding new places to investigate. We are constantly battling the dense vegetation and hurricane damage that occurred during the last 10 years. The photo to the right, shows a path that students cut in order to reach their shovel test destination!

The photo to the left provides an idea of what the students are up against when they encounter hurricane damage. However, down trees and dense vegetation does not intimidate the students!!!

We have a nice cluster of positive shovel tests that is in the exact area that domestic artifacts were recovered in 1988. On Friday, a shovel test team recovered blue transfer-print whiteware, brick fragments, and a ceramic base. The ceramic base has blue pooling that is characteristic of pearlware, however the ceramic is very thick like a stoneware. This is definitely a question to be answered at the upcoming Friday field lab- Friday, June 19th 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

Left to right: Blue transfer-print whiteware, brick fragment, and ceramic base. The base is most likely from a cup or dish of some nature.

Student Highlight of the Week- CATHERINE ELISE NIEMEYER

2009-06-14T12:35:00.000-07:00

Catherine Elise Niemeyer is a Pensacola native, a graduate of the International Baccalaureate Program at Pensacola High School, and a rising senior at Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. In the fall 0f 2008, she spent a semester abroad at the University of Edinburgh. She is an anthropology major, with a particular interest in the anthropology of art and photography. Her minor in classical and near eastern archaeology has predominantly exposed her to the art historical and theoretical aspects of archaeology. Elise hopes to round out her perspective of the discipline of anthropology through fieldwork at Arcadia. After she graduates from Bryn Mawr her plan is to attend graduate school for a degree in anthropology before pursuing a career in the field.

Student Highlight of the Week- SHANE DEBACK

2009-06-09T17:52:00.000-07:00

Shane is a senior at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse. His major is archaeology with a minor in anthropology. He completed a field school last summer in Wisconsin and wanted to participate in a second field school here at the University of West Florida. He chose UWF due to his interest in historical and underwater archaeology as well as the opportunity to gain more hands on experience.

We are so happy to have Shane here with us as a combination student for the maritime and terrestrial field schools.

Transit Exercise- 08 JUNE 09

2009-06-09T17:26:00.000-07:00

Today the students received a transit tutorial and practiced what they learned with an exercise. They learned about horizontal control and how to set up a grid with a transit.

The students also learned about mapping techniques including how to draw a grid. The students will utilize this knowledge when they create a large-scale map of the project area with all of the excavated shovel tests.

Coming Soon!

2009-06-08T19:24:00.000-07:00

Each week the blog will highlight one of the Arcadia crew members including a short bio and picture!

Field work commenced- 04 JUNE 09

2009-06-08T18:50:00.000-07:00

The first half of the day was spent at the Archaeology Institute due to the potential for bad weather. However, the sun began to shine and we eagerly headed for the site.

The summer investigation plan consists of surveying (shovel testing) the upland area located north of Pond Creek. We hope to locate the village that was associated with the industrial enterprises at Arcadia Mill.

We were ecstatic to find that our first two shovel tests of the summer were positive! Transect 1, shovel test 1 yielded Alkaline-glazed stoneware sherds, bottle glass and brick fragments. Transect 2, shovel test 1 yielded brown bottle glass, brick fragments and fasteners. The dense vegetation and bad weather was overshadowed by the first finds of the season!

The weather was not on our side- 03 JUNE 09

2009-06-08T18:21:00.000-07:00

We had great plans for the second day in the field! We were lucky enough to provide an orientation on equipment and methodology before we encountered bad weather. The students learned about all of the equipment and maintenance including sharpening tools and changing mesh in the shaker screens.

We conducted a mock shovel test to demostrate the process involved with archaeological survey. The round shovel test reached a depth of 1 meter right as the rain began to fall. A downpour ensued, causing a mad dash to the outdoor museum pavillion for cover. If only it looked this sunny and nice that day!

We waited out the rain for about an hour before we finally retreated to the UWF campus. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Archaeology Institute, which served as a safe haven from the rain!

First day at Arcadia Mill- 02 JUNE 09

2009-06-08T17:27:00.000-07:00

The first day in the field involved an extensive tour of the site! We started at the outdoor classroom and made our way inside to check out the newly remodeled museum. The museum provided background information to prepare us for a walking tour of the site. The tour included the boardwalk as well as the newly cut paths located north of the dam segments, which lead to the areas of investigation. We had a very productive and informative first day!