The temperature is slowly starting to climb into the low 90s, but the humidity is low, which makes for good working conditions. Several students asked if an ice cream truck could make a delivery out to the field today. Dr. Eubanks said that there could be ice cream at the bottom of the next level, but his Good Humor (…) went unappreciated.
We had several visitors come by the site today including Bill and his dog Dart.
Dr. Smith also stopped by to check on our progress. Here, he can be seen being thankful that he is not excavating the “rock pit” feature in our western test unit.
The three test units in the eastern half of the Wynnewood North Field are now 30 – 40 cm (12-16 in) below the ground surface. So far, there are no signs of the Mississippian midden that we encountered in 2017. Instead, we are finding numerous historic artifacts, including one nearly intact medicine bottle.
At the end of the day, John, Kathryn, and Brittany discovered an odd soil change near the medicine bottle around 30 cm (12 in) below the ground surface. There’s a chance that this feature could be a floor affiliated with an early historic structure, but more work is still needed. The crew is excited about their discovery, and Brittany even offered to stay late to work on their feature.
Despite Brittany’s pleas to work through the night, Dr. Eubanks made everyone pack up and leave the site at 4:30, but all are eager to see what the next day will bring.