Saltery Cove Survey

 

This boat has some history - left forever when the man arrived via boat and took the woman to town 

Archaeology field season is complete.  Last week Molly and I got in the museum's last archaeological survey of the season.  And just in time too - in the last couple days the ground here on Kodiak has frozen solid.  

This last survey was in the Saltery Cove to Lake Miam area and for transportation we used four wheelers and a mountain bike.  The four wheelers carried the gear while I rode the mountain bike. Andy S and his son accompanied us on the survey.  

It was a successful survey.  We found 4 new sites and re located another 6 already known sites.  The 'already known' sites were all last reported on over 40 years ago so we were happy just to be able to find them all.  New sites included an early Russian era saltery - the 'saltery' in Saltery Cove! A late prehistoric village of multiroom houses, and a really old site situated on a paleo shoreline that is today over a 1/2 mile from the sea.  I counted 18 large multiroom house depressions at one of the already known sites we examined, and that is the biggest village I have ever seen on the road system.  Patrick

Molly takes notes at a locality where we did not find a site - it's just as important to note down where you do not find a site as it is where you do!

The 'light calvery' - I chased and assisted the motorized division (Andy and Molly on the ATVs)

We used the teepee wood stove to heat a cabin where we spent a night

Haaken and Andy

Lake Miam

Frosty morning at Saltery Cove