AUGUST 21, 2004

From: Scott Beld
Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2004
To: Oxbow Archaeologists
Subject: Ponton Site - August 21, 2004

Hi Oxbow Archaeologists,

We made it out to the site yesterday and had a good day excavating. Kevin, Greg, Lia, Frances, and I made it out (see Photo 1 in the photo gallery below). We continued to excavate Feature 5 and worked on a couple plow zone units to the north of Feature 5 (see Map in the photo gallery below). Feature 5 began to look like it may be a cellar today!

In the morning I finished cleaning the plow scars and photographed unit 520R498 that was begun with Steve Matthews. I found some earthenware, flat glass, and a ribbed pipe bowl fragment in the plow scars. In the afternoon, Greg, Lia, and Frances excavated unit 520R497. It contained the usual variety of earthenware (Old Blue, Light Blue, Red and Brown Transfer prints, Handpainted), stoneware, and a pipe bowl fragment (see Photo 2). Among the most interesting artifacts found yesterday was a fragment of a knife blade from this unit (see Photo 3). There is a dark gray stain in the northeast corner of this unit that may be a feature though it has ill-defined edges.

In the morning, Greg, Lia, and Frances started excavating Feature 5, 516R495 and got two levels done. Several pieces of flat glass were recovered at the top of the feature in this section. At the bottom of Level 1 (30 cm) a rectangular rust stain was noted (see Photo 4). This stain contained a chain link (see Photo 5).

In the morning, Kevin excavated two levels of Feature 5, 515R498 and I excavated four more in the afternoon. At Level 10 (75 cm), a square corner appeared (see top photo in Photo 6). This looks like the corner of a square cellar. From the profiles of what has already been excavated it looks like one of the sides was about 1.75 meters. At the end of the day I was very close to the bottom (see the Level 14 (95 cm) photo – lower right corner). I suspect that the bottom of the feature is on an olive clay (C horizon) and the depth was about 1 meter (below the ground surface) – we’ll find out next Saturday. The bottom 20-30 cm of the feature seems to be filled (packed?) with yellow sand and orange silty sand B horizon (the sediment that we encounter immediately below the plow zone). I’m wondering if this might have been done intentionally to raise the floor above the spring water table.

This week on Wednesday we’ll plan on doing lab work (flotation, washing artifacts, etc.) at the Resource Building. Next Saturday, we’ll plan on excavating at Ponton. Looking ahead two weeks to Labor Day weekend, we’re tentatively planning on digging Monday September 6 in addition to our regular Saturday session (Sept. 4)!

Hope to see you at the site.

Scott

********************************************************************
Scott G. Beld, Ph.D.
Research Associate II
The University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology
1109 Geddes Road
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1079
Phone: 734-764-0489 (UMMP Main Office)
734-763-9253 (My Office)
Fax: 734-936-1380
Email: sbeld@umich.edu
*********************************************************************