Archaeology Dig Diary June 30, 2005

Archaeology Dig Diary - Thursday, June 30

Fun Fact

We have found a number of fossilized shark's teeth during the excavation. They come from two types of sharks, both still found in today's ocean. The fossils are from the shortfin Mako shark and the Sand tiger shark. Both types of teeth are commonly found in the Yorktown formation which dates to the Pliocene era 5.4 - 2.4 million years ago.

Work is progressing very nicely despite the lack of meaningful rainfall. The ground is awfully hard and so dry that detecting color changes has become very difficult. Last night’s rain helped a little, but we need the humidity to increase in order to create the lines of thunderstorms that provide rain in the Tidewater summers.

As we continue to uncover the two main cellars, several other interesting remains have also come to light. The remains of several nineteenth and twentieth century fences have been identified running through the site. Several small trenches have also been identified. These are probably related to early 20th-century farm buildings. Excavators found a two foot wide trench situated on the crown of the terrace that overlooks the river. In the past, similar trenches have turned out to be Civil War related. We won't be able to determine if this trench is war related until it is excavated. North of the cellar on the slope are what appear to be the remains of two smaller cellars. While not yet fully uncovered, they appear to date to the 18th century.

The field school has one more week and then they return to Florida. It is clear that some are more than ready to go home. Others seem to be really enjoying their days excavating the Washington Farm and their nights exploring the town of Fredericksburg.

Shark