Quite often, urban archaeology is all about rescue archaeology, which wikipedia defines as "archaeological survey and excavation carried out in areas threatened by, or revealed by, construction or other development." That is, someone wants to build a building, but would like to make sure there is noting of historical significance lying beneath the foundation.

For this task, I chose an urban locale that, while small, has been in desperate need of a large-scale clean-up and redevelopment project. This area has recently become dangerous, as the terrain is constantly shifting, and avalanches are not uncommon.

Yes, that's right. I am talking about my bedroom.

I had been planning this project for a while, but even excavating a small portion of my room is time-consuming. While planning this praxis, I happened upon another task that would help me prepare, and so I began this task already in possession of a topographical map of my keyboard shelf. (Check out Topography for photos; I am having issues getting the link to work.)

The first step, of course, was to gather the tools that I would need. First and foremost, I needed a hat. I began by considering my straw hat, which would keep the sun out of my eyes while it worked, but in urban settings, square feet are precious, and so the space I would be working in was too small for a hat of that size.



The second hat I tried was my winter hat, but it did not fit over my ponytail, and besides, it is summer outside.


At last, I found a hat that would work.


Next, I gathered my tools. Urban tools for an urban site: a spoon and food tongs for digging and for moving of objects, a toaster rack for sifting through the waste for further artifacts, a paintbrush for dusting artifacts, and a pad and paper to record what I found.


Then, I had to choose a site. As all archaeologists know, before beginning to dig in earnest, one must first dig a test pit. Since I already had a topographical map of a portion of my desk, (see my "topography" praxis for more on that) that seemed like the best place to begin. Of course, as noted in my other praxis, the topography of my desk has a tendency to shift rather frequently, so I was not certain that the map would still be useful.

My desk:


Further photos of the overall site can be found in the proof.

I began with a test pit, and met with immediate success. Here is a photo of my first artifact:


The extensive process by which I found this, and other artifacts, can be found in the proof below. If you are pressed for time, I will leave you with the images of my most interesting find:


As I worked, I determined that some of my tools were not so useful.


I also kept a record of all of the artifacts that I found.


Eventually, it got too dark to work, and so I looked at the progress I had made and decided that it was good enough for the first day's dig.


All that remained to do for the day was to file the artifacts...


... and cordon off the area:


And then, it was of to bed, exahusted from an afternoon's hard work, but satisfied with the results of my first day of excavation.