Overdue update

As it happens, today is rainy and I’m using this opportunity to write this long-overdue update on the excavations over the past two weeks.

First off – a day or so after the last post, a film crew from WSTM NBC Syracuse came to the site, and did a lovely story on the dig and the history of the house. It’s available online for viewing here.

On the 16th, Krissy headed back to California to get ready for classes to start again. I had a great time working with Krissy again, and I’m so thankful for her time with us – we got a lot done. In the end, she did find just about all of the fragments of the blue-and-brown-striped bowl, and it will be a beautiful piece for the Foundation to display in the museum once it’s glued back together.

I’ve spent a lot of time over the past two weeks excavating within the foundation, and (literally) getting to the bottom of it. It finally ended at reddish-brown compact clay subsoil at over a meter in depth, with most of the artifacts having come from the very top few layers of fill. Unfortunately, the pit under the foundation pre-dates it (as the pit undercuts the walls), and so we’re no closer to determining the foundation’s use than we were when we started. It doesn’t look like it was the privy after all.

We also opened up two units just outside of where the original kitchen door on the house was. This was one of the areas that until last summer had been covered by early twentieth-century house additions which actually protected the nineteenth-century ground surface. We found many artifacts on the ground surface last summer in this area, and opened up these two units to see what the kitchen-yard area was like. As predicted, we’ve found large amounts of artifacts in these units, likely having been discarded directly from the kitchen. We also came across the edge of a line of laid bricks in one of the units – we didn’t expose enough of it to tell exactly what it is, but it may be part of a path that led from the kitchen to the back yard.

Finally, we’ve also started a new unit directly outside of the french doors on the west side of the house that in Gage’s time, led to the formal garden. We’ve placed the unit hoping to catch any footing, etc. of the small deck and steps that led down from the french doors, but didn’t actually expect to find much in the way of artifacts because our other excavations in this general area in years past didn’t turn up much. To our surprise, we found a wealth of artifacts (albeit mixed up with modern debris probably associated with the construction/removal of the sun porch that covered this area until last summer) – including several buttons, a fragment from the head of a porcelain doll, fragments of a hair comb, and – our most exciting find of the day yesterday – an 1859 US penny, with a hole drilled in the top. The coin may have been worn as a charm or jewelry.

And that brings us up to today. This is the last week of working with volunteers for this summer; over the next two weeks I will be working to finish up the in-progress units before heading back to California myself. I’ll be on a somewhat irregular schedule over these next two weeks, but if you’re nearby stop by and I’ll show you what I’m up to. This has been a fun and productive excavation season, and I appreciate the fact that the rain has held off for the past few weeks after our rainy start!

As always, photos are here.

Enough rain, already!

We’ve had a productive week, despite the almost-daily thunderstorms. Last Friday, we were joined by our first new volunteer of the season, Carol, and we opened up a new unit new to the ones we had been working on, along the western edge of last season’s units. Right after lunch, we were rained out. We spent our time constructing screens to dry artifacts on once they’re washed. On Friday, we we were only able to put in an hour or two when the rain hit, and we spent the rest of the day washing artifacts. Saturday, though, was beautiful! We had several volunteers – Barb, who returned again to help (after working nearly daily during the first summer of STP excavating!), and the Hill family. We made quite a dent in the two new units by the end of the day.

After recuperating on Sunday and Monday, Krissy and I returned to the site yesterday to continue work. We started excavation of the interior of the foundation found last summer, with the hopes of determining the structure’s use, in addition to continuing work on the units from last week. We were able to put in a full day on Tuesday, but were rained out today in the afternoon.
While we’ve found that there is indeed a pit feature beneath the foundation, we’re not quite sure yet what it is, as the pit extends below the north and south walls of the foundation. I’ve posted a series of photos on the blog which show the layer-by-layer excavation of the interior of the foundation done so far. Check out those photos and others here.

Keep your fingers crossed that the rain is done!

Day 3

Today was another productive day, and we are nearly done with the unit we began yesterday. We returned this evening for the Foundation’s hosting of the Manlius Chamber of Commerce, and were on hand to show visitors the site and our most recent finds. Tomorrow will be our first day of this season’s work with volunteers, so it should be lively. More tomorrow!

Day 2

The equipment arrived! We were able to put in a good half day of excavating today, and had a great start. We opened up a new excavation unit, to the northwest of some of the units we opened last summer – just off of the southwest corner of the house. The two adjacent units were excavated last summer, where we found what appears to be 19th century trash related to the kitchen – including the yellow ware pie plate and ironstone tea/coffee service fragments currently on display within the Gage House. The new plan for the woodshed addition will be wider than it was initially planned – in order to keep the same square footage of the addition, without impacting with the foundation found last year – and this new unit is located approximately where the HVAC units for the addition will be located.

What we found in the new unit is similar to what we found in the adjacent units last year – below a thick layer of pea-sized gravel, we found numerous artifacts, including a wine glass or water goblet base; part of a crockery lid with a molded floral design; lots of glass – from windows, bottles, tablewares, and lamps; and part of what was probably a hat pin, with a harp at the decorative end (perhaps a symbol of Ireland?). Pretty good for our first day excavating! This shows us that this area of the yard has not been too disturbed by later yard uses, and helps add one more piece of the puzzle to our understanding of how the back yard as it currently looks came to be. We’ll be back out tomorrow, for a long day – 8-4pm as usual, plus we’ll be back on site for the Manlius Chamber of Commerce function held at the Gage House in the evening, from 5:30-7:30pm. In other news, News Channel 3 (NBC) will be coming out to do a story on the project next week. I should start prepping my tv poise…

First Day on Site

Today Krissy and I spent the morning getting equipment organized and checking on how the site weathered the winter. Units that we had finished completely were filled in at the end of last summer, but the area surrounding the stone foundation found was covered with plywood and tarps to keep it safe while we were gone for the rest of the year. Amazingly, when we uncovered part of this area, the ground was barely even wet – a considerable feat, given all of the rain we’ve had here this summer, and even just over the past week or so. I was half-expecting a muddy quagmire, but we just encountered a lot of worms, ants, and spiders that had taken up residence beneath the plywood. We brushed up the site to get ready for excavating, but after just an hour or so the rain started and we closed everything back up for the day. I’m still waiting on some of my equipment to arrive, so it looks like we’ll be able to actually start excavating on Wednesday morning.

Photos from this year’s work are posted on our Flickr page here.

Summer 2008 - Getting started

Well, August is here and we are getting set to start up excavations at the Gage House once again – tomorrow! This summer, we will be continuing the excavations that we started last year, concentrating on the area behind the house. We will be trying to figure out the function of the stone foundation we uncovered last July, excavate some additional units where the woodshed addition will be constructed, and excavate some test units along the west side of the house where the 20th-century house additions were removed last year.

For the next two weeks, Krissy Montgomery and I will be excavating – Krissy participated in the archaeological field school we held at the Gage House last summer, and now she’s back as a volunteer! Krissy & I will be excavating on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with volunteers welcome on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays (please email me to schedule). I will be working on site at least through the end of August. This week will be a long one, as we’re getting started on Monday, and will be staying late on Wednesday to participate in the event held for the Manlius Chamber of Commerce on site. Monday and Tuesday will likely just entail us getting our equipment organized, the units from last year uncovered, and new units staked out. Hopefully on Wednesday, though, we will actually be able to start moving some dirt! Please come on out and see us – we may not be on site all day Monday and Tuesday, but the rest of the week we will be there from 8am to 4pm, so come on by! Cheers, Kim

Kids at the Gage House

Two of the more exciting artifacts we found this summer were sherds of a small child’s plate with the alphabet embossed on the plate rim. The two fragments fit together perfectly, and represent about a fifth or sixth of the entire plate. The well of the plate (the central, deeper part) is mostly gone, but on the very edge of the sherds is a bit of the transfer-printed design which would have been the focal point of the plate when whole. Since we only have the very edge of the design, it was not recognizable on its own. Luckily, I happened on to a book for collectors of ABC plates that showed examples of many of the central transfer-printed designs produced, and to my surprise, found the pattern that would have been on the plate found at the Gage House. The pattern is called “Girl at Piano” and shows a little girl in front of a piano, with the following text beneath the picture: “The pretty little child on tiptoe stands/ to reach the piano with her hands.” The fragments we found show just the end of the piano. The book says that this design was produced by the British pottery firm of Elsmore and Son, which was in operation between 1872 and 1887. While our fragments don’t have a maker’s mark on them, it is possible that they too were produced by this particular pottery company – but it is not definite as multiple pottery firms often used the same designs on their pieces. If our plate does date to this particular time period, though, it suggests that it might have been owned by one of the Gage’s grandchildren, as their own children would have been too old to be given one as a gift by 1872. According to what I’ve read, these plates were often given to small children as gifts and were used to help them learn the alphabet and to read. Further research can help us gauge with better certainty whether Elsmore & Son likely produced our plate, and also tell us what grandchildren were present at the Gage House during this time period.

Overall, this plate is just one example of the evidence of kids and their playtime at the Gage House. We’ve also found small items such as two small metal horses, a small porcelain doll head, marbles, and fragments from a miniature porcelain teaset. Finding these bits of childhood from the past serve as reminders that children living in and visiting the Gage House used this property and left their mark just as the adults of the household did.

You can see the fragments of the ABC plate online here and a picture of the whole plate here.

Music of the Day: Work Song from Les Misérables
Diggers Log: July 12, 2007
It has been four days since we have been assigned to this desolate landscape. We are quickly running out of food, water, and stamina. As we look out across the barren moonscape of mottled clay and large rocks we begin to wonder what it was we did to anger Kim in those first days to be assigned to this unit, but then we remember that we chose this unit as it felt lucky. However, it seems our luck has run out. How quaint those optimistic days of yore seem to us now as we scrape our way through compacted layers of clay which continues to taunt us with the occasional rusted nail or small sherd of ceramic in the supposedly sterile soil.
Beads of sweat trickle down our brows as the sun beats upon our bent backs and our hands are slowly stiffening into the dreaded trowel claw, the bane of all archaeologists. Despite repeated attempts at escape, our taskmaster shows little mercy, pointing out a mouth harp, drawer pull, and large rib bone which we found in upper levels. She hopes for more discoveries as we dig deeper into the abyss. But for us, these are distant memories of our past glories.
In recent days there have been distant mumblings among the higher ranks of a possible relocation in our near future, but this has yet to come to fruition. For now we must content ourselves with gazing longingly at our more fortunate peers with significant, non-coal related finds, and better sun to shade ratios. Only the gods of archaeology can predict our future. Today we continue to be hopeful that lady luck shall smile upon us and our next entry will bring more fortuitous tidings.
To Be Continued: Will Laura and Susan survive to trowel another day? Will they melt beneath the sun’s burning rays or will they finally make their escape into the shade?

Brought to you by: Laura Soules and Susan Penacho
PS: we blame the sun for any hallucinations or any descent into melodrama.

End of field season

Well, we finished excavations for the summer on August 14th, and I’m back in Berkeley now that classes have started again. I am working with a great group of undergraduate students this semester (including two who participated in the field school this summer), and we’ll be doing some excavations at a site here on campus as well as processing all of the Gage House artifacts from this summer. We’ll be posting periodic updates as the artifact analyses get started. Happy fall, everyone!

Rain Killed The Digging Star

What would have been a fruitful dig has been shattered by rainstorms. I am leaving New York without the big fancy lights or extended goodbyes, just broken memories. There will be no spotlights zigzagging in the sky as I arrive at the airport in Richmond either. No limousine or entourage waiting at the gate cheering for the “fastest digger”. I will have a quiet morning arrival and a lengthy wait for a carpool.
My life is slowly being snuffed out by the rain. Being a Digging Star isn’t that cracked up to what its portrayed to be. I have watched four of my comrades leave, each in their own fashion and glory. Kelly had a mock wedding farewell – a concocted trowel sendoff to the theme of a movie that should make all archaeologists cringe by the lasting affect of misrepresentation of the practice. While Patrice left us a day deep into the dig for personal reasons, we all wish him the best and hopes that he would magically be waiting for us in the second leg of the tour- Virginia. Isabel has flown the coup and awaits us in our new home and Susan has retired her trowel early for the joy of witnessing a union of two.
As for me, I am not sure if there will be Frank Sinatra playing in the background; I haven’t done things my way. I will probably leave in the same melancholy way our mystery voles died. Syracuse has poured so much rain it’s very likely I could drown as well. With flat trowel in right hand and clipboard in other, I climb into our freshly dug unit spawning five levels deep and curl into fetal position while the rains come in torrents at first then wane off and on erasing my name as each storm passes in the sky. I am slowly disappearing (and the newspaper does no justice to validate my existence or historical archaeology for that matter).
Being a bonified Digging Star has altered my perception on archaeology. I envisioned the sweet life of being a “made archaeologist” after touring. Being a “made archaeologist,” would entitle me to designated sifters, while I kneeled beautifully on my engraved pad scrapping the earth and gently brushing the soil for shards of ceramics peeking up after years of hiding. At the blink of an eye I would be the taskmaster, issuing out suicide missions, banishing them to different parts of the continent like Siberia, where there was rarely an artifact and definitely no protection from the elements. They would only call for my attention when they found something other than coal. However, I could join the neophytes whenever I chose and disappear whenever I wanted. Was it all a dream? Wishful thinking I tell myself over and over again.
I’ve been in the most somber moods, playing Elliot Smith and Radiohead on repeat. I think I am experiencing “diggers withdrawal”. I wonder how bad it will get when school starts in August? I must work in the lab processing the artifacts, watching my babies carefully in the fall.
For now I will try to conjure up those unforgettable memories in Fayetteville. The cool blue Collegiate Schwinn bikes that was apart of a regular routine of speeding down Clinton St. to where the road curves to the right with a downward bend, mind you on a flat tire all the while. Or the bummed mission to find an air pump during our lunch break, which never happened. I thought gas stations still had air pumps? Apparently not. The annoying Target trips weren’t so bad after all. I usually stayed in the car and ruled the radio station for the half hour. Returning home seeing everyone’s dirty faces after a day in the fields was amusing. If we only brought along stencils we would have the best body art. The most memorable is Kim jumping curbs in the mystery machine, which could be felt especially if you sat in the back row. Furthermore, having the experience of watching multiple generations of archaeologists stretching from the early years at Syracuse University to present day at Berkeley gather to teach us youngsters some history lessons was amazing. The hospitality of the people that aided us in our adventures is truly appreciated and will not be forgotten. Thank you all.
Mesha Adams UC Berkeley 08