Chris had finished clearing level 1 in all the quads and started on level 2 while I was sick.
We finished up Level 2 in the NW quad, and then got through it from scratch in the NE and SE quads. Level 2 was mostly a historical layer, with bits of brick, glass, and nails in a clay matrix.
When Level 2, was complete we started Level 3 in the NE quad. It was my turn to dig at that point. Level 3 was a lot easier to get through than 2 because it was primarily sand. Sand digs out and screens much faster and easier than clay. Level 3 started at around 12-13 in. depending on the specific quad because of the slope of the land.
This level also revealed our first mappable feature in the NE quad. This feature was a light stain of slightly softer sand. It originally showed up as a "7" shape with a rounded shape meeting the bottom of the "7." Gradually the diagonal part of the "7" disappeared, leaving a bar and mound roughly 6 inches apart of lighter colored sand. If you have a Munsell soil chart handy, then the fact that the light stain was 10YR/4/3 and the surrounding soil was 10YR/4/4 will definitely mean something to you. For those of you who do not, it basically means that there was really only a slight change in soil color, but it seemed dramatic since they were so close to each other.
Level 3 is a purely prehistoric layer. There was quite a bit of chert debitage and some pottery fragments, but no historical remains at all. I did not reach the bottom of level 3 yet because we had to pack up and leave for the day.
We finished up Level 2 in the NW quad, and then got through it from scratch in the NE and SE quads. Level 2 was mostly a historical layer, with bits of brick, glass, and nails in a clay matrix.
When Level 2, was complete we started Level 3 in the NE quad. It was my turn to dig at that point. Level 3 was a lot easier to get through than 2 because it was primarily sand. Sand digs out and screens much faster and easier than clay. Level 3 started at around 12-13 in. depending on the specific quad because of the slope of the land.
This level also revealed our first mappable feature in the NE quad. This feature was a light stain of slightly softer sand. It originally showed up as a "7" shape with a rounded shape meeting the bottom of the "7." Gradually the diagonal part of the "7" disappeared, leaving a bar and mound roughly 6 inches apart of lighter colored sand. If you have a Munsell soil chart handy, then the fact that the light stain was 10YR/4/3 and the surrounding soil was 10YR/4/4 will definitely mean something to you. For those of you who do not, it basically means that there was really only a slight change in soil color, but it seemed dramatic since they were so close to each other.
This is the stain from a funny angle.
Level 3 is a purely prehistoric layer. There was quite a bit of chert debitage and some pottery fragments, but no historical remains at all. I did not reach the bottom of level 3 yet because we had to pack up and leave for the day.
