Clay caps and wall trenches

Hand-painted Chinese porcelain sherd.

View facing west of Feature 19 trench under remaining clay cap.

Continuing progress was made today in most of our excavation units, including in Area C, where one of the wall trenches we have been approaching was finally exposed under a narrow strip of remaining yellow clay.  The video explanation above describes the excavation strategy for this unit, and how the clay and underlying midden deposit relate to one another in three-dimensional space.  A sherd of Chinese porcelain was also discovered in this unit today (see picture above).

Kristina de la Cruz and the finished level map.

Also in Area C, mapping was completed for our largest unit at 2x2 meters (see picture to right), and excavation is underway to remove the remaining clay cap in this area so that several anticipated wall trenches (including part of the trench described above) and possible corners should be exposed.

San Marcos Complicated Stamped potsherd.

In Area B, several sherds of stamped pottery most normally associated with Native American cultures along northeast Florida's Atlantic coast were discovered in one unit.  These sherds, called San Marcos Complicated Stamped, have previously been found at Presidio Isla de Santa Rosa on Santa Rosa Island, and may be associated with the as-yet undiscovered Yamasee Indian mission town at Punta Rasa (modern Garcon Point).

1x1 meter unit in progress, showing features.

Another nearby unit in Area B revealed a charcoal-filled pit feature that may be a smudge pit like others found at the site, as well as a possible linear feature stain that might relate to yet another wall trench.

Shovel testing also continues in between Areas B and C, and early next week we anticipate continuing our exploration of the section of the stockade wall identified yesterday.