By Rory McEathron
The surveying part of the archaeological project finished today. We covered another 15 holes (many of which we were forced to surface collect) and found a wide range of colorful ceramic fragments and broken bottles. I learned today that it is possible to estimate the age of a bottle by measuring how deep the indentation on the bottom is. Present-day glass bottles usually have flat bottoms, but when bottles were made in the 19th century they were blown on the end of a rod. The older bottles had very large indentations on the bottom where the rod was placed. We were also greeted today by a Yellow-Crowned Night Heron at one of our holes. These birds, which stand about two feet tall, are basically fearless and do not fly away unless closely approached. After watching the bird for nearly five minutes, it flew into the dense scrub and disappeared. I always find the incredible variety of creatures God has created amazing…I was astounded again today and I hope that I will continue to be! Artifact cleaning tomorrow!