By Rory McEathron

Our archaeological dig led us to 19^th-century remnants of an old building behind Corktree Beach today. The building, which the Museum Director believes was originally known as Corktree Plantation, is today simply a pile of burned and broken rocks—however, the ruins are littered with broken ceramic fragments. Most of the shards are blue and white, while others are various shades of red, green and brown.These fragments, which date from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s, are easy to see on the screen. When compared to the dark brown beads and bone fragments that we’ve been finding, these vivid shards seem to jump from the ground. We also began using a laser range finder today. Instead of pacing out every distance, we simply press a button and the exact distance is projected onto the tiny screen.I always find the new technology incredible…how can a tiny device have so much processing power? I guess that’s why I’m not a computer programmer!Day five tomorrow — all the holes should be finished by the end of the day.

Today, we have had a full day of cruise ship visitors, a couple divers, and then at two the six grade classes from Eliza Simmons Primary School came for a field trip. The museum has been full all day. This is at a time when we are down a temporary staff member as Jessica has completed her volunteer work in the archives and has returned to Boston. She had been covering the guided cruise ship tours as well.Lina came in this morning to guide the first tour. The Aliatte came in between classes at the college to give the children’s tour. Aliatte has become of the key staff leaders of the children’s program and though she is now well into her second year of a teaching certificate, she still comes into work at the museum often to assist with both tours and children’s club planning.

By Rory McEathron

Monday marked the beginning of an archaeological dig that I am getting the chance to assist with. The site is known as GT-4 (GT standing for Grand Turk) and is based around a site located the west side of the island. I am working alongside the Museum’s Director and two professional archaeologists from the United States, and the excavation will run for the week’s entirety. The archaeologists work by digging test pits every 25 meters. We dig a pit that’s approximately 70 centimeters deep—a little over two feet—and then pouring the material through a screen. The sand and dirt fall through, while shells, rocks and pottery bits are left exposed. By tracking numbers of artifacts (potsherds, beads, etc.), they can figure out where the main site was located. I quickly learned that archaeology is nothing like Hollywood makes it out to be. As amazing as this may seem, every shovelful doesn’t turn up a gold nugget or tiny valuable stone statue. Over six hours of work and 15 holes, we found two pottery fragments and one whole bead. However, I am really looking forward to working and learning for the rest of the week!

Last week was insanely busy! Here’s a sampling of what kept us busy:

The Fort St. George artifact cleaning continued by Dr. Keith.

Rory alternated taking pictures of the artifacts for cataloging and giving his stellar tours.

On Thursday the swimming activities were canceled due to rough seas increasing our expected visitor count by 50%!

Look out for the newest Astrolab Newsletter in the Times of the Island. We just sent in our materials for the articles and already have a proof from the editor – it’s going to be another great issue!

Our trustee meeting was this week and included the annual report for 2009 and outlined goals for the coming months.

We hosted a private party this week after hours. It was great fun showing off the Turks and Caicos history to our host’s guests. Dr. Keith guided people through the museum and showed off his most recent work in the laboratory. Dinner was accompanied by light music and set a lovely tone for the social event. Among the distinguished guests was His Excellency the Governor and his wife. What a treat!

Today starts another busy week at the museum. Aliatt brought her class to visit us today and the archeological dig on GT-4 started today too. Rory will tell you more about that later, until then I’m going off to hear some of the stories first hand!

The after school program is going strong. Everyday there are more students using our newly purchased laptops and preparing their reports. Today I took a step back for a moment to marvel at the success of the program. There was a line for the computers today. We knew the Museum was popular, but it seems we are the hot ticket on the Grand Turk after school activities most wanted list.

We are starting a new series tonight called Spring 2 Collections at the museum.

The focus of our first event is on artifacts found at Fort George, which are in the process of being conserved. They will be on display in the Museum Science Building tonight from 6:30 – 9:00pm.

Just after three long days of work, previously hidden clues have been revealed on many of the artifacts. Still this afternoon there are “small finds” soaking in cleaning solution. Tonight’s event will allow our members and guests to view conservation in progress while Dr. Keith talks about the artifacts and hypothesizes about the secrets they may reveal. Thank you to those who have RSVP’ed for tonight. Those who have not are still welcome! Wine and cheese will be served as we explore the secrets of the Fort George artifacts. And if you stick around after 9:00 you can hear some great music. If you aren’t on the email list and would like to be, send us a note!

Yesterday, Museum Trustee Dr. Donald Keith arrived on island. Almost as soon as he was picked up from the airport, he started situating himself in the conservation labs. He’ll be staying on island for 3 weeks to continue the conservation of the artifacts donated from Fort George. Hopefully, in that time, we’ll see a number of artifacts cleaned, conserved, and the clues to their valuable history will be analyzed. The information will add to the story of life on Fort George and the society and culture of the TCI.

Dr. Keith, who is an expert at underwater artifact conservation and was one of the marine archaeologists that excavated the famous Molasses Reef Wreck with Ships of Discovery, and was one of the original founders of National Museum itself. He was also an integral part of the excavation of the HMS Endymion off the coast of Salt Cay.

by Jessica Brody

During my last visit to the museum, we applied for a Pine Cay Association grant to resume the after school program. It seemed that every afternoon brought students to our door asking if the program had restarted yet and how long would it be until it did? Just a few weeks after my departure in October, our application was accepted and now we can finally answer “we’re open!” when we hear the knocks on the door. I’ve returned for 6 months to help run the program and continue some of the projects that Tiffany and I started in our visit last fall.

So far the after school program is getting a good response. One of our regular visitors contributes to the Children’s Club Blog and wrote an entry on the positive attention he received from his teachers after he properly cited the sources he used for his homework. You can view it here: http://tcmuseumchildrensclub.blogspot.com/2010/01/tuesdays-with-tuvol.html

I’m also working on picking up the archives project where Tiffany left off. She ordered a shipment of supplies before she left island, and once that arrives we can store the records properly. Then I’ll continue to add the records to the database so we can find what we need every time! It’s an exciting prospect from someone who values organization and usable systems.

We’d also started the slide digitization project last time I was on island. In my absence, Aliatt has completed more than half the scanning! We’re planning great things for that collection so I’m eager to continue scanning images and prepare them for future viewings.

It has been easy to slip back into the swing of things here: I retained all the tour information and facts I’d thought I’d forgotten resurfaced with ease, driving on the “other” side of the road feels natural again, and I’ve found snorkel equipment that fits me. With the basics in place, I’m ready for another great (and productive!) visit to the National Museum.

Thank you to everyone who attended last night’s first event of the Spring 2 Collections series. It was incredibly successful. Everyone who attended seemed to enjoy socializing over wine and cheese and then listening to Dr. Donald Keith’s terrific talk on the conservation of artifacts. Who knew that sugar could be used to save a waterlogged wheel? After the discussion, Alessio’s band took to the floor and played for two hours while our guests chatted and listened. It was a very enjoyable evening and we look forward to the next event on March 2nd.

By Rory McEathron

It’s been a great week here at the Museum, which I’ve spent preparing new guided tours for the opening of the cruise season in April. The new tours include a shipwreck snorkeling tour, a military tour, and several different behind-the-scenes tours of the museum. The shipwreck snorkeling tour includes half an hour of snorkeling in the wrecking yard in front of the museum before traveling up to the north end of the island to view the lighthouse. The military tour will focus on the Naval Facility on the north end of the island, while the behind-the-scenes tours will allow visitors to learn about the conservation of artifacts and the preparation of exhibits. These tours, which will be offered solely off the Museum’s website, are going to be the best things to hit the Turks and Caicos since the Molasses Reef Shipwreck!