|
Tim's Journal:
 When we got up this morning our barge was here with our four- wheeler,
stove, refrigerator
and the rest of our camp. Aaron and I will never see the camp built but
the four-wheeler might save us some time. All day long crews loaded and
unloaded the barge as Deering residents watched.
At 8 A.M. we had our safety meeting with all of the
construction crew. Rick Reanier (our leader) asked that we
clarify safety issues with regards to archeologists working
in backhoe trenches. It is the responsibility of the
archeologists to monitor every inch of the excavation, and
we are concerned about the danger, especially in the
trenches.
 During
the day, I learned about artifact preservation in the lab from our conservation
specialist Randy Peterson. Randy carefully explained cleaning procedures
and preservation techniques using acetone, Acryloid B-72 and Rhoplex AC-33.
The idea behind preservation is to clean the artifact without damaging
it, then preserve the artifact without damage in a manner that is reversible.
I spent the rest of the day with the unique privilege of conserving artifacts
that are around 1000 years old.
Bonita Barr, Randy Peterson and
Susie Barr working in the lab.
AARON'S ADDENDUM:
 Today in the field was very successful. With the transit in operation
we were able to accurately map each artifact as it was removed, instead
of just labeling it conservation 1,2 or 3. It really sped up the operation.
We met the new plumber for Village Safe Water, Ben
Deering. His name is quite a coincidence, but it gets
better. The town Deering was named after a schooner that was
shipwrecked nearby at the turn of the century. What's more
is that Ben's ancestors were shipbuilders, and they built a
ship named Deering, which was lost at sea about 150 years
ago and no one ever heard of it again!
The UIC (Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation) field laboratory
in Deering.
|