24 July, 2002

Our last day is a sad. There is something really special to me about 
archaeology. We have a great team. Some days we talk all day long 
wondering who live where we are working. What did they do? How did they 
hunt? What did the children do? How did they learn? Other times we work 
silently. It is very Zen like to excavate. There have been many great 
days in Wales. We have seen many whales, reindeer, rainbows, etc. We 
have taken some great hikes. But to me, the best is just excavating all 
day long. It does not matter what the weather!

Anyway, back to the mound. We have discovered more posts and are trying 
to see where they are going. I found a skull under some posts. Roger 
thinks it is a large dog. The day ends. The next step is to finish the 
cataloging, do the profiling, and backfill. PROFILING IS MEASURING ALL 
AREAS OF THE MOUND BEFORE WE BACKFILL. This data is necessary for next 
year. It is the finals pieces to a map, so we will already know our 
measurements. We also have to pack everything to be sent off to 
Anchorage for analysis.

Marisa Fauretto, an artist from Anchorage has been with us this week. 
She is here to draw and study the mound. She has been doing a lot of 
measuring and sketching.=20

There are many parts to this whole experience. The team effort is the 
key. We now have been living in a very confined space, the Dome, now 
since the end of June. We are literally on top of one another. Our 
living space is also our lab. Samples need to be cleaned, observed, 
written about, and catalogued. Everyone has been very positive about all 
of this. This is the great part. Everyone gets excited about everyone's 
finds. Our meals also have a lot to say. It is a good thing we have good 
cooks with us. Everyone shares. It has to be this way.

When Tammie left Wales, she went to see her friend Maureen in the Aleutians. She flew on the Spruce Goose. This plane drives into the water and then takes off. She had the pleasure of riding shotgun with the pilot.

Margie, Jim, and Teresa are helping with the backfill.

Backfill is very important. Roger is checking to make sure the posts are =3D not being damaged. Later that day, we were checking to make sure our =3D backs were not damaged!

And the finished product! As much as my back hurt, as much as I was wet and cold, I would do this again in a =3D flash!