Big Dig 2- Final Day

I recall last year's final day.  There was a feel in the air- a loss.  Colm picked up on it today and said  there was a sense of quiet over the site.  The 2 pits were cleaned and dressed.  Final photos, drawings and measurements we made.  Plastic lined the pits to preserve them for next year's dig (we hope (and pray)). 

The sound of shovels began and everyone took turns filling in the holes.  It was reminiscent of a funeral.  We were all saying our farewells.  Why are we doing all this?  I guess each of us has his/her own agenda.  I know I have mine.  I want to, no, I need to have folks remember what happened here.  The folks whose lives we were uncovering were not much different from our own.  They had kids.  They went to work each day.  Children were born, and others passed.  I looked up at the tower and wondered what stories someone who sat up there could tell.  The earliest shanties and the pioneer Irish.  The development of the Acre with tenements.  The arrival of newer groups.  What would they say about what is going on today?  I think we all want to be remembered.  Doing what we're doing here is honoring the lives of those who came before us. 

I would be remiss if I didn't stop and again say thanks to the team.  I am terrible at good byes.  Saying good bye means there is an end.  Stuart, Dermot, Sarah, Eunice, and Dimitrios are unique individuals who I am sure are bound to do amazing work in their lives.  Without the vision and commitment of Frank and Victoria, none of this would happen.  As a matter of fact I ask those of you who have followed this blog and believe in its goal to send a note to Dr Frank Talty to let him know this is something you feel has worth. (francis_talty@uml.edu)  And Colm and Ronan, Go raibh maith agaibh.  I have no other words.

 

Don't forget, the week after next, the team will begin digging at Cummiskey's homestead in Tyrone.  They will be emailing entries to us from the site.  Be sure to check back.  I think this final picture says it all.

Big Dig 2- Day 4

Apologies for not posting last night. No, I wasn't out celebrating.  While the team was out at Garcia Brogan's in search of a few pints, I was home doing research.  Honest!  I'll post more about that when I see if I wasted a few hours of my life, or it makes an impact.  A second apology for no pics today.  It seems my camera has gone awol.  I'll add yesterday's pics in at a later date.  I know there are some moms and dads who like seeing all the money they spent paying tuition, paying off with their kids doing what they love and are good at.

Remember a couple of days ago the mystery item?  We had all kinds of guesses- well cover  was pretty popular.  But as time progressed the thought came that it was a latrine cover.  For the archaeologists it would be great.  A latrine would be a mini time capsule of what went on at this house.  There would be all sorts of "organic" matter to analyze.  But as someone who regularly gives tours and lectures when folks asked what was found, I'd have to say we have McDermott's toilet!  It just would not have the same effect.

Through the day yesterday more artifacts revealed themselves.  I posted earlier about going from shovels, to trowels, to brushes.  Now they are using wee trowels.  (Oops, wee = mini in American English.  I've been hanging around these folks too much)  It looks like Gulliver travels with lilliputian size tools.  Slag (molten rock and iron), coal, and some burnt material, leads everyone to think that maybe, possibly, sort of, this could certainly be some type of hearth stone.  Pit # 1 also has revealed the floor of the house and a slot pit where some type of foundation was laid.

Stuart with pottery shard.

Dinner plate uncovered.

Dr. Donnelly gave a great presentation last night where he pulled together theme the whole of the past 2 seasons and the dig which continues in Tyrone.  Well, I must be off for the final day of the dig.  There are stories to be uncovered, and holes to be filled in.  Cheers!

These are the team members when they are clean.

Big Dig 2- Day 3

Last year's dig collected 1352 artifacts.  I mistakenly measured success by how many items were found.  I learned something new.  As a teacher I often tell the kids it's quality, not quantity.  The same is true on a dig.  I've stopped counting the number of items found and have learned to look at what else is happening.  The first day the team worked with shovels.  The next worked with trowels; today they are down to brushes.  Slowly, ever so slowly, the dig is revealing its secrets, which lead to more questions. 

Since I don't do the digging, my job is watching (hey, it can be quite exhausting). The first couple of days had a lot of chatter and the energy of starting the dig.    Today things were more quiet, not that there wasn't a lot going on, au contraire.  Watching the team today you saw a lot of thought and analysis going on.  That mystery item is still unknown.  Hearth?  Well-stone?  Canal rubble?  The students put in hours of painstaking time slowly uncovering each millimeter of dirt. 

The story of Lowell's Irish is an unfinished jigsaw puzzle.  Each day new pieces are being uncovered, and need to find their place in the big puzzle. 

Today, another archaeologist came by, Suanna.  She taught me about the unforgotten part of archaeology- dirt.  Yes, dirt.  She explained that dirt can tell about the landscape, or the plants, or food of an area.  All from a bag of dirt. 

Watching Colm and Dermot I saw a great teacher-student interaction.  Dermot was sharing with Colm his assumptions, and Colm was affirming and asking him to reach to the next level.  Dimitrios is a natural problem solver and is the first to offer an idea or a helping hand.

Sarah is a professional.  I have watched her uncover the same area for 2 days now.  She sees things in the soil that I miss easily.  I don't know where she finds the patience to not just pull something out of the ground instead of taking the time to wait until it exposes itself.

Watching Stuart and Eunice work makes me appreciate the effort and commitment they have.  They have spent hours itemizing and classifying material.  Stuart has vast background knowledge on identifying items.  Eunice sees things in a global perspective, the big picture.  Ronan has taught me not to jump to conclusions.

I will attempt to add a video clip.  I have no idea what I'm doing.  You might have to turn your whole monitor to see it- sorry about that.

Big Dig 2- Day 2

Time- it's what archaeology is all about.  Every little scrape of the trowel erases years, decades, and after a certain point centuries.  What took generations to build up, is erased in a matter of hours.  But watching the team work for hours nonstop is another measure of time.  These 8 men and women are truly dedicated to uncovering the story that lies under their feet.

Every now and then we try to make our viewers do a little thinking with a little game of What Is It?  So here's today's pic

This was found in the area identified as a possible chimney by the ground penetrating radar.  It is probably granite and has a semicircular indentation.  So do you know?  We don't, that's why were asking you.  Why is it like this?  Did it have a purpose?  Send an email with your idea.

A Day in the Life
The team does not stop working.  I thought I'd give you a little pictorial of their day.

Each item is cataloged and numbered for future analysis

The sod is overturned and then placed on the side to be returned when the dig is over.

Meeting with historians, media, other archaeologists, and the dozens of interested passersby.

Digging.

Sifting

And more digging.

A short rest

Illustrating

And still more digging.

Big Dig 2- Day 1

Logan Airport- ok, no more said about that.  The team arrived at the site about noon.  The security fencing was installed.  Dan Lynch, the archaeologist who did the GRP a few weeks ago, showed up to go over details with Colm and Ronan.  They used the equipment to measure out where potential findings could be located.  After that the students from Queen's and UMass began uncovering one of the pits from last year.  The focus this year will be on what probably was the Fr. McDermott property.  This was a house, called a shanty in newspaper accounts, owned by Father James McDermott, pastor during 1840s.  When the present church was built in 1854 this house remained in front of the church and went through some legal problems about ownership.  It's possible, maybe, with a chance that this is the described shanty.  Hopefully this week will prove one way or another.

Like last year, the team is such a great group of people.  Dr Colm Donnelly and Ronan McHugh are the team leaders.  They brought 3 Grad students from Queens; Stuart, Dermot, and Sarah.  Two UMass students have returned, Demetrius and Eunice.  From UMass are Victoria and Frank Talty who are coordinating all the myriad of details to get this project moving.

As the team was finsihing for the day, the clouds began to gather.  Last year they had some of the hottest weather to deal with.  A few raindrops began to fall, but I'm sure the folks from N. Ireland are used to that.  Tomorrow is another day......

This year's team.

Energy break

Ronan, Dan, Colm

The first cut

Cool!

Stuart showing how hard he works.

The Big Dig - Part 2

The inventory has been checked.  Flights are booked.  The security fences will be up soon.  The Big Dig is coming back.  Two of the archaeologists from Queens Uni in Belfast will be returning along with 3 Graduate students.  They will be met by 3 UMass students and will form this year's team.  The dates are set for Monday, August 8 through Friday, August 12.  While the team tries to stay focused on the work at hand, visitors are invited to come by and take a look.

If you recall last year 2 pits were dug.  The one on the right contained a midden, a garbage heap, filled with cow bones, pottery shards, a clay pipe, etc.  The pit on the left was the mystery that awaits us.  The foundation stone was found just as the dig came to a close.  What finds await us this year?

A lot of research has gone on over the past year.  Studies have been done on who owned the land (what a great little story that is!).  There has also been a study on what lies under the ground!  Stay tuned for updates as they occur.

On another note- today was my last day of walking the cemetery.  For 18 days I've walked around with our Civil War burial list, verifying burials against markers and monuments.  Eighteen days ago I had high hopes of matching 80 or 90 % of the list.  The final result was far, far less.  Of course I had to choose the 18 hottest days of the summer.  But the deed is done.  The team is still formatting all the data.  We hope you can join us for this year's tour of the cemetery in September.  We will have some great new stories of our Irish forebears to share.

As this blog approaches its first anniversary I notice we've had almost 2000 hits.  Hopefully folks are enjoying the posts.  Feedback is needed.  Let me know what you enjoy, or want to know.  Or maybe those 2000 hits are all from some spam machine and no one is out there!