2008 Woodie Awards
Archaeology trip helps students experience field work
By Tim Simpson
Last update: 5/17/06 at 8:20 AM CST
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Anthropology Professor Greg Smith saw an opportunity to expand the knowledge of his archaeology class when the National Park Service called for volunteers to help excavate ruins at Mission Concepcion March 4.
"Archaeology is one of those disciplines that's field work based," Smith said. "It's not all book stuff; it's not all stuff you can do in the classroom. If you limit yourself just to the classroom, it's really hard to get that side of archaeology to the students."
Park officials estimate the room may have been the granary given the indicated size. Unlike modern structures, the walls of the mission were supported by stone foundations, which were located directly underneath them. By uncovering these foundations and noticing how they lay out, it will be possible to figure out where walls at one time existed for the mission. Students from Smith's class joined other volunteers in using whisk brooms to clear away dirt from the exposed foundations, which jutted out of the earthlike echoes of the walls. Though the shape of the structures was evident, many on site noted that up close it was difficult to tell apart the actual rocks that made them up from the surrounding dirt. More recent artifacts were readily distinguished, such as the concrete base for a flag pole since removed. Students also unearthed an oil can and a piece of animal bone. Both finds were deemed amusing but unimportant by Smith and the on-hand park official. Another noticeable bit of the recent past was the foundation of a restroom built on top of the ruins in 1948. At the time, nobody realized they could be disturbing the ruins by placing a structure near the mission's "convento," or convent. The construction of the restroom also raised the land in the area causing another problem. When the restroom was built, it affected the drainage of the land in such a way that it caused water to pool up alongside the eastern wall of the convento. The stone walls serving as a slate for the frescoes are made of tophaceous limestone, which absorbed the condensation from nearby water pools like a sponge. The easiest way to have dealt with the problem, Snow said, would have been to build a drainage ditch to keep the water from collecting so close. But doing so might have destroyed the foundations of the ruins underneath. The only way to avoid this was to expose all of the ruins. The issue has been known since the park service took over in the late 1980s, but it has always been a matter of finding the money to get it done, Snow said. Work typically is done as money comes in.Snow said the mission houses the largest collection of Spanish Colonial frescoes in the United States. They can be seen in four rooms accessible to the public, including the convento. Smith said most of the students who went had a really good time. "For me personally, I had a great time because it was an opportunity to interact with students in a much more informal way and get to know them better," Smith said. "And I was down there digging, and it was really fun to be able to do that."
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