What have I been up to? The last three days I have been running a project at a Spanish mission site. We are mapping the site using modern GPS-based equipment. The fenced area of the mission has been divided into 4 meter by 4 meter squares and we are basically crawling over each one, picking up every artifact, and sorting them into different material types. We fill out a form for each square, listing and counting all of the different artifacts


























Artifacts from one square.

For most squares I take a photograph to document what was there. I also take close up photos of the most interesting items.


























A rifle cartridge, a shell-edged dish fragment, two pieces of an orange-glazed pipe bowl, a piece of blacksmithing waste, a bodkin, and three Native American pottery sherds.

We are collecting a small sample for a type collection for the site.

It is going well, except I somehow scratched my cornea on my left eye. Very painful at times.

Also keeping busy entertaining Mummy. I have been dragging her to stores so she has to walk around and get exercise. She is definitely getting older, it is startling to see her act like my grandmother acted.