Test Trench 14 (TT14) was one of the trenches that was placed to find a location for the water holding tank for the park's new fountain. Excavation of Test Trench 14 uncovered a deeply buried intact burial in the southwest corner of the trench and was identified in the field as a female by the site's Bioarchaeologist. The burial sloped down from the skull, which was exposed at 11.2 feet below ground surface, to the knees at 11.9 feet below ground surface. Since there was no evidence of a burial shaft, the discovery of a burial in sand at such a great depth was a surprise. Small, fragmented artifacts were noted at about 3.0 feet below ground surface, well above the burial level. Other highly fragmented items, such as shell and coal, were noted at about 6 feet below the ground surface, but in the same type of sand found throughout the trench under the initial layer of asphalt and roadway fill. Once the burial was uncovered, backdirt soils from the sensitive area were screened through 1/4 inch wire mesh.
The burial was cleaned off and documented in situ, in accordance with the site's protocol. The burial was then covered with clean sand, a wooden cover, and Geocloth before the shoring box was removed and the trench backfilled. A double molar, an interesting anomaly, was photographed.
The burial uncovered in Test Trench 14 made it necessary to rethink the proportions of the water holding tank needed for the new fountain. The result was a redesign that called for a somewhat shallower excavation in a new trench.
-
Collection method
Grab samples were collected of cultural material.
-
Soil description
in Sand
