August 11, 2010

Mr. Wallendorf was operating the Aqua Harvester for clearing the Algae from the lake in the early morning.  When I got to Aquarena, he had already cleared the back of the Landing and driving the Aqua Harvester toward the Glass Bottom Boat dock.  The Aqua Harvester shoveled up the floating Algae, dumping collected Algae on the conveyer belt, and the conveyer belt moved smoothly upward to transport chunks of Algae to the container which was located in the main body of the Aqua Harvester, under the driver seat.  Mr. Wallendorf was watching carefully around the location of the Algae, and he cleared plenty of fast growing Algae around the lake.

The team of the Center for Archaeological Studies, Texas State University, led by Mrs. Carole Leezer were excavating beside Aquarena Center Office near the Aquarium.  About four square feet was marked with an orange tape and the working area was enclosed with a meshed wire.  Mrs. Carole Leezer said that it would be the tool-making site.

First, two students removed grasses which covered the surface of that area with shovels, and they shifted with the big and examined every thing left in the shifter carefully.  Even the roots of grasses were cleared before discarding the grasses from the shifter.  Then, using the archaeology trowels, the scraped a layer of the soil carefully, collecting that scraped soil with the dust pan, and brought to the shifter for careful examination.

They collected some artifacts including a couple tiny, round snails, small flints, and a coin during the excavation of the first level, 1-10 centimeters, the Unit I, Level I, 1-10 CMBS.  Interestingly, one student told me that the archaeology uses the metric system of centimeter instead of the inch.  Mrs. Leezer said that they will dig deep at this excavation site.  Exciting!

It is hard work, but the corner of Aquarena was filled with the excitement for searching and acquiring the evidence of the past history of the Spring Lake this morning.