From my perspective as a student, the first week of archeology field school at George Washington’s Ferry Farm was pretty straight forward. The first few days of class were spent checking into Westmoreland Hall (our dorm at Mary Washington College), meeting other students, and adjusting to new work and new surroundings.
The official activities of the field school opened with an informal dinner where staff and students met for the first time. Good conversation and average Chinese food allowed for the field crew to begin the transition from absolute strangers into a cohesive unit.
The organizers of the field school understood that the first few days in any new place could cause some disorientation, so they compensated by making sure students knew where they should be, what they should be doing, and when they should be doing it. Several maps and some phone numbers were exchanged on the back of napkins to supplement the official information being distributed to students.
We spent the first day on site in a classroom taking care of paperwork and learning about the history of the farm. The research plan was introduced, and the concept of how we as excavators fit into the work at and plan for the site was also introduced. The next day was spent becoming familiar with the tools and methods of excavation. Shovels, spades, and tape measures were passed out, and we all attempted to follow the site archaeologists' demonstration of the proper use of these soon to be very familiar tools. The beginning of actual work in the field came on the third and fourth days. We were assigned a digging partner and a unit, and we fumbled through the first few wheelbarrows of dirt. The excitement from the novelty of small finds created an excited atmosphere where dirt and heat were ignored. The first week of field school ended with a trip to the Kenmore house, and a tour of the local civil war historic sites. The pattern of fieldwork, coursework, and off-site visits established in the first week continued throughout the rest of the field season.
---Adam Purcell |
