Sampled Select Locations

One of the standard things that archaeologists do before selecting the exact location of the formal dig is to survey the area and take samples in a number of spots in the surrounding area.

Students noticed that the ground seemed softer at certain spots and at others they noticed a lot of mounds that may have been created naturally or could have been man-made. At N 50° 45.547', W 114° 19.527', students noted: "The soil felt like it had been dug on before. [The] ground was bubbled up like it had air pockets in it."

Parents used metal locators and marked where they found strong indications of possible finds. All of our observations helped us decide where to sample in preparation for our dig.

Chrome Ring and Gasket

At another location (N 50° 45.547', W 114° 19.527') we found a chrome ring 9 cm in diameter in level 1 (0-10 cm). Some of the students thought it was a chrome taillight but some of the old timers thought that it could be a decoration from a stove. There was a gasket 6.5 cm in diameter found at the same place. This is a bit confusing because we couldn't think why you would need a gasket on a stove and that is why we thought the chrome ring should be from a car. Someone said that we were making the assumption that the chrome ring and the gasket were connected in some way. We are undecided about this. What do you think?

 

Stove Leg

At one of our sample locations (N 50° 45.547', W 114° 19.528') in level 2 (10-20 cm) we found what appeared to be a stove leg with ashes inside it. There was a hole to attach it to the stove. Some of the parents who were volunteering with us could remember stoves legs like this. It was rusty, old and dirty. It was a pretty big stove leg and it was a weird shape. We think that this stove probably was used to heat their shack.

This validated the conclusions we had reached from our research and the interviews, especially the interview with Mrs. Prestie.

Square Enameled Metal

At N 50° 45.541', W 114° 19.533' we found a square piece of metal with an enameled surface on one side. It has holes in two of the sides and the corners are chopped off.

We couldn't come to agreement about this piece. Some of us think that it looks it might fit with the stove artifacts we found. We're wondering how this might have happened that different parts of a stove would be strewn all over the place. Could it be that wood stoves were thrown away if they switched to electricity?

China Shards

We think that the people who lived here (N 50° 45.542', W 114° 19.533') brought their plates from England because one of the china shards said "ENG" on the back. It looks like it says England written on yellow ribbon. The letters "DGW" are written going across the letters "ENG" and "REG" are written at the very top of the piece.

It is the most important piece because it can tell us how old it is and where it came from. It is one of the smallest pieces we found but it can tell us the most out of all the pieces. We think that maybe a teacher lived close to where we dug because we found yellow chalk and paper too.

When we talked to Andrea Richardson, she let us know that that there were plate makers in North America around this time period but that bone china mostly came from the orient and Europe. We aren't sure whether all the shards were bone china or not. That is still a question we need to research.
 

Hinge

We found a hinge at N 50° 45.541', W 114° 19.533' and we think that it belongs to a stove because everyone else found parts of a stove. Our teachers laughed and thought it should be part of a barn gate or door but we're not convinced. The hinge was rusty brown and it was bent. It has four holes on one side and only three holes on the other because the place where the fourth hole is where the end of the hinge is broken off. The actual hinge connects the two large metal pieces. The hinge is 21 by 21 cm.


Angle Iron

I found a straight metal piece that was all rusted at N 50° 45.541', W 114° 19.533'. At first our group saw nothing on it but after we washed it we could see a few words but we couldn't make them out so we washed it again. We did a rubbing to really get clear letters and this is what we found: "Compeer 15 S12 F. B. 25."

We wondered how this fit with the other artifacts we found. It is so heavy we couldn't imagine this would be a part of a car or for household use. Could it have been on an oil rig?