After the first few days on-site, I settled down in EU 23 under the watch of Dr. Mel. During our first few days, we spotted the very top of bedrock on the eastern section of the trench, just a small section that wasn’t even a foot in diameter. This would be the beginning of a horrific dance to uncover the rest of the bedrock. The bedrock seemed to just slope gently down with the highest point being on the southwest corner, or at least that was the assumption until we came upon the first hole. Tucked in the southeast corner, I dug away, getting slowly more and more frustrated as bedrock refused to be found. It was a strange dip in the bedrock that would be nothing compared to the later holes. 

We continued following the bedrock down after removing the lovely ashlar. Again, it seemed like it would be simple. It was gently sloping north so we assumed it would continue to do so. But unfortunately, it was not so simple. The bedrock would drop off into this set of twin awful cavities. The hole kept going down, and it would take the entire rest of the day before we finished our side of EU 23. It was impossible to sweep out the dirt completely, and my trench-mates and I were growing more and more tired as the end seemed so far away. Eventually, we did reach bedrock, and it was satisfying to see the end of our side of the trench. We couldn’t go any further; we were done.

audrey