As of yesterday evening, there was an 80% chance of rain for today. Despite the gloomy forecast, the weather ended up being quite nice, with a high of 85 degrees and mostly cloudy skies. However, the water table appears to still be sitting an inch or two below the base of the Mississippian midden in Unit B10. Since they couldn’t dig in the midden, Maddie, Devin, JP, and Nicolas began excavating a 1 x 2 meter unit into the center of the rock feature. The goal here is for Maddie to be able to collect a soil sample from this feature for a botanical analysis.
We were also treated to a visit from Sam Smith and Steve Rogers. They arrived just in time to see John bisect a possible historic post located just underneath a compact surface.
A few meters south of John, the crew working in Unit B9 finished excavating a feature filled with limestone, corroded metal, and animal bone. They also uncovered a molar from a large herbivore. There were known to be bison in the area during the early historic period, but the tooth could also be from a cow or horse.
Near the end of the day, Constants informed Dr. Eubanks of an “alarming” problem—the soil in her unit floor was “moving” as it was being cleaned with a trowel. It looks like we may soon have a second unit going into the water table.
The forecast for the rest of the week looks promising, but trying to predict the summer weather in Tennessee can be challenging.