As students packed up and headed home, I returned to Oxford at the end of the field school, and after a brief rest, began the other work of archaeology: analysis and writing. First, though, was the matter of unpacking and organizing equipment, paperwork, and artifacts. The TA, Hamilton Bryant, finished the last of the washing (most of Read More …

Today draws an end to our field school experience. The day began with us finishing our excavating and mapping of the few various features we had yet to complete in the unit. This included excavating post holes and middens, or trash pits.  In order to do this, we had to keep digging until we hit Read More …

As this field school comes to a close, I find it important to reflect on the experiences of these rapidly waning weeks and to ask what has been learned. The more I contemplate this question, the more certain ideas begin stand out in my mind. First, my concept of Archaeology has changed drastically. My interest Read More …

Aside from the excavating, drawing, and washing of artifacts, the grid is a very important part of archaeology. The formation of the grid helps the archaeologist plot the nails for the individual units and aligns the shovel tests. The grid is set up using a transit and a stadia rod. The transit is a device Read More …

As Jamie and Adam from the Mythbusters taught us, the only difference between science and goofing off, is writing it down. Doing paperwork while in the field is extremely important! Without it our fellow archaeologists would have no idea which level certain artifacts came from or at what level the soil changed. Both of these Read More …

I have always viewed archaeology as sort of a doorway to the past, but I never thought that the doorway would come in the form of a four meter by four meter hole in the ground. When we arrived on the site today we were greeted by our ever so messy and intricate series of Read More …

Today at the dig site I began my day with a few shovel tests, which consist of a two person team, one digging the holes and the other looking for artifacts as well as noting changes in both soil color and texture. These changes are important as they help us pinpoint the many different soil Read More …

Digging at the Carter Robinson mound site for the past week and a half, we have come across many artifacts and features. The most exciting find today was the post holes of past structures. We are not exactly sure of the use of the structure, but we have discovered charcoal and animal bones. This means Read More …

Welcome to the Carter Robinson Field School Blog! These posts are written by members of the 2015 Field School team. Please feel free to share the website on social media and check out our other pages relating to the wonderful history and heritage of Lee County, Virginia. An overview of the Carter Robinson Field School Blog Read More …