With great patience, the student crew waited out the morning rain today. While the official rain gauges may show less, our unofficial "bucket gauge" accumulated about 2 inches of water between 7:15 and 10:30 am. As the drizzle continued, we completed half of the "site grid" before breaking for lunch early.

After lunch, we were finally able to begin excavation. The seventeen students in the class are divided into six "excavation crews." In order to locate the foundation of the church, we began a series of excavation units at the edge of the church lot running east-west. The excavation units are 1-meter wide and two-meters long -- effectively creating an excavation trench about 25 feet long. This trench should cross the east foundation of the church building. Another shorter trench to the south (about 15 feet long) will hopefully intersect the southeastern corner of the church.

Just beneath the sod (about 2 inches deep), we immediately began encountering what appears to be the remains of the church building. In the long trench, large brick fragments, pieces of limestone (probably scattered debris from the church foundation), and square nails dating to the 19th century started turning up right away.

Soil excavated from these units is screened through 1/4 inch hardware mesh to recover artifacts. After processing, the soil is "stockpiled" on a large sheet of plastic well outside our excavation area (and away from existing grave markers). At the end of the excavation, this soil will be replaced in the units and seeded with grass to restore the area as closely as possible to its original appearance.

At the close of each workday, the excavation units are covered with a protective canopy -- the remains of the church are protected from the elements beneath the soil. As we expose them through excavation, we have a professional obligation to protect them from the potentially damaging effects of sun and rain. As the excavations proceed, these canopies will also help protect the unsuspecting local pets and local wildlife from stumbling into a deep hole! Despite the poor weather on our first two days, the excavations are now underway and show great promise to produce some new and exciting information about the 1820 First Presbyterian Church.