Archaeological Dig: Week 5

This week was a quiet one at the dig. No major, life changing discoveries were made and few artifacts (besides nails) was uncovered. The weather was rather lovely this week and we all enjoyed the cloudy skies and cool coastal winds. On Tuesday we took a field trip out to Fort Vancouver, which many of you may already be familiar with. For those of who aren't, Fort Vancouver was contemporaneous with Fort Yamhill (and Fort Hoskins) and served as the supply depot for all the forts in the area. Pretty much, if we find it at Yamhill it likely made a stop at Vancouver first.

Here is the progress we are making on the southside foundation, notice how the rock edges look very smooth and straight on the left side but very jagged and uneven on the right. The right side would be the interior of the foundation and we believe the uneven edges were left behind since no one would see it, but the left side would have faced outside and therefore more care was taken to ensure nice straight sides.

Each of the 5 houses had a porch that extended the length of the home, this is the porch support we uncovered on House #2. Later in the week, the crew working this area found the other one, but not in as good of a condition as this.

Fort Vancouver also conducts digs over the summer, their methods are quite different from ours and their equipment (like iPads and 3D software) is much more advanced than what we are given. I guess that is the difference between University sponsored (us) and Government sponsored (them) digs. They were a very nice group of people!

Fort Vancouver was an amazing structure to behold! It is one thing to envision the way it looked by researching what we are finding in the ground, but it is a whole other thing to see what the structures would have looked like standing right before you! (Photo taken from outside the fort)

The fort area is so much larger than I could have ever envisioned! We were given a private tour by the Park Ranger and provided access to areas the general public doesn't see. I cannot urge you enough to visit this amazing place! (Photo taken from inside the fort)