We have a stockade wall!

Danielle Dadiego showing nails in Feature 10.

Today was a great day on several fronts...apart from having a full day of fieldwork without threat of rain, progress was made in all units, and perhaps most significantly, the stockade wall trench has finally reappeared on the far eastern edge of our Area B excavations.  Despite massive disturbances from an open animal burrow in this same unit, a remaining portion of the Feature 10 wall trench was discovered by Danielle Dadiego, confirmed by the presence of two iron nails oriented east-west at a precise distance of one Spanish palmo mayor (about 8-9 inches, or the distance between the extended thumb and little finger, as shown in the picture above), just as was discovered in the Feature 10 wall trench excavated to the west in 2009.  With the discovery of this new section, the presumed stockade wall now runs at least 17.5 meters east-west, more than 20 Spanish varas.

View to west showing remaining clay fill in over wall trenches.

In Area C, both excavation units have been mapped near the bottom of the yellow clay cap layer, and one of three expected wall trenches is already beginning to appear as an isolated line of deeper clay fill (shown in picture above).

A pipe bowl fragment and gunflint flake.

A number of mission-period artifacts were uncovered today, ranging from Spanish majolica, beads, and gunflint flakes to a Native American pipe bowl fragment and many other potsherds.  We look forward to even more advances over the next days.

Majolica vessel base with footring (see inset).

Pinched applique rimstrip on Native American jar.

Brooke Joseph and Patty McMahon flat-shoveling.

Bobby Bernal and Kristina de la Cruz mapping.

Nick Simpson taking a sample of clay for fine screening.