An unusual June heat wave ushered in our second week, with temps hovering around 100 degrees (F) on Monday and Tuesday. The remainder of the week was warm, sunny, and beautiful. We met the week's goals of nearing the end of the Trench 5 (2x3m) excavations and of uncovering more of the foundation wall and associated features in Trench 6 (4x4m). In addition to the interesting stratigraphy and archaeological features, we recovered several interesting artifacts and a bit more insight into the ongoings at the Old House during the last half of the 17th century. Despite having to work extended hours to compensate for our shortened days earlier in the week, the field crew performed enthusiastically and dilligently throughout (due in part to the unlimited supply of freezer pops!).

The crew walking the path from the Old House across the hazy, hot, and humid hayfield on Monday.

Jonathan and Noah find a way to stay somewhat cool in the heat, rolling up the hose at day's end. This became a necessary daily task after coyotes on the farm took to chewing on our apparently tasty water hoses.

Trench 5 at week's beginning, with former builder's trenches and wall visible in foreground (Trench 2, 2007)

Caroline and Katherine excavate Feature 1, a clay-packed builder's trench in T.5 - Trench 6 is visible in the background.

Trench 5 turned out to be quite complicated stratigraphically, with the midden feature ending in the southeast corner, a building trench tapering across the north wall (Feature 2), and another clay-filled builder's trench running north-south in the northwest corner. These features are outlined informally here. The fill in-between these features is context #1710 - a fill soil packed with architectural and household materials.

A view of Feature 2 at its top - difficult to see here b/c of the hot, dry soil.

A profile view of Feature 2 from Trench 2 looking westward into Trench 5. This Feature (also context #1715) includes several interesting finds: our first piece of 17th-century porcelain, a copper alloy button, a sherd of sgraffito.

Caroline excavating Feature 1 in Trench 5 at the beginning of the week.

A view of Feature 1's clay and sandy soil, and the associated stones in the north wall.

Another view of Trench 5, northward facing, with Feature 1 wall in northwest corner, and the Feature 2 tapering trench along north wall.

A decorated sherd of bellarmine ceramic from the midden soil (#1714) in Trench 5.

Andrew closely examines the base of a 17th-century alcohol bottle found in the midden soil in Trench 5. He will study glass corrosion as part of our materials science / archaeology UTRA team research group later this summer.

A closer view of the bottle base.

Trench 5 with Trench 6 in background (Wednesday).

Trench 6 at week's beginning, with signs of architectural materials still invisible in the newly excavated areas.

A westward facing view of Trench 6 on Monday.

By mid-week, a Feature, fill and interesting architectural rubble began to emerge in the NE corner of Trench 6.

Meanwhile, in the SE corner of Trench 6 a heavily mortared deposit emerged.

While the wall features were not immediately distinguishable, Kaitilin maintained meticulous notes during her supervision of Trench 6 excavations.

Not to be outdone, the NW corner of Trench 6 emerged as a thick mortar deposit, with relatively fewer stones. Jonathan works hard here to clean, dig, then re-clean the deposit.

Ashley cleaning Trench 6.

A 4x4m unit, Trench 6 generates 16x of the soil that most of our trained archaeologsts (who usually dig 1x1m units) are used to. This volume makes for long days of careful screening - a rather comfortable escape from the hot sun!

The screening paid off in both Trenches. Here is the handle pewter utensil with a strawberry knop decoration, found in Trench 6.

Also from Trench 6 - a slate (Madison) projectile point.

We had many visitors over the course of the week - but none are more interested in the project as the property owner, Mrs. Westervelt. Here Kaitlin and Caroline show her some of the day's finds.

Zac shares two stoneware jugs from his family collection during lunch.

The bottom of Feature 1 in Trench 5. Two holes at the feature base are evidence of robbed larger stones historically.

The Feature 2 builder's trench in Trench 5 visible here.

Feature 2 builder's trench in profile.

Krysta excavates Feature 2.

Grace holds a sizeable cow mandible found in context 1710 in Trench 5.

Colin and Randi uncover an artifact from 1710 in Trench 5.

One of six trays of artifacts from 1710 during their processing in the field lab.

Just when we thought we were done with features in Trench 5, shovel shaving revealed a clear-cut circular hole filled in with 1710 soil.

Noah excavates 1710 soil out of the feature in Trench 5.

Trench 6 excavations - Jonathan and Ashley.

Grace and Ashley shovel shaving in Trench 6.

Colin and Ashley, digging even deeper in Trench 6.

Chris lending a hand and finally finding something underneath the thick fill of Trench 6 - a surface lined with flat stones.

Ninian describing the ongoings of Trench 6 to Krysta, Prof. Brian Sheldon, and the UTRA students.

Krysta shows Prof. Sheldon from Brown's Division of Engineering some of the day's interesting finds.

A quartz projectile point from Strata 1 of Trench 6.

A lead weight with "7" inscribed on it, found in Trench 6.

Where we stopped Friday afternoon in Trench 6 - with flat stones emerging. Week 3 looks like it will be filled with careful plan drawings and even more careful excavations!

Our aerial visitor Prof. Richard Gould flies over the farm on Friday afternoon to take photographs of the site while units were open.