The Argyle Diaries

Louis Allaire

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2013 The Argyle Diaries: archaeological tests at a Cayo site of St. Vincent, W.I. (1994) Louis Allaire “Sins of my Youth and Old Age” No.8 11/3/2013 NOTES ST. VINCENT FIELD SEASON 1994 The Inspector said slowly: “Of course one never knows what may be useful or what may not.” Agatha Christie 3 June Trip to Argyle ca. 8:30 am. Site OK, as last year more or less. Small but interesting collection from surface out of land slide. Decorated sherds, large fragments. Same location as last year. By Escape school: workers working on road. Little material in work area but deep ditch has deep sherds running along 1.5 m from surface at foot of slope. Must measure. Small collection. Sherds in adjacent field. (...) PM: Picked up Earl Kirby around 3:15 pm; drove to Argyle owner; everything OK. (...). 4 June (...) Ca. 1:30 pm drop by Buccament; little changes. Fine surface collections in several areas towards beach: on dirt piles near road construction and below road towards beach. David collects in area against cliff, then in W. shelter. Some cloud bursts; very humid. Ca. 3:30 pm back to Museum. M* and Kirby later. Dismayed and appalled at situation in storage area. Place broken in and shelves boards stolen. Boxes collapsed, bags. Heaps of sherds all over the place. A disaster. What to do? (...). Back house ca. 6:00 pm quite discouraged both of us (…) Henry calls from Guadeloupe.

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• Publié par: louisallaire
• Publié le: 03 novembre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 51
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

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2013

The Argyle Diaries: archaeological tests at a Cayo site of St. Vincent, W.I. (1994)

Louis Allaire

Sins of my Youth and Old Age” No. 8

11/3/2013

 

         

 

       

3 June

       

       

NOTES ST. VINCENT FIELD SEASON 1994

       

       

 

The Inspector said slowly: “Ofcourse one never knows what may be useful or what may not.”   Agatha Christie

 Trip to Argyle ca. 8:30 am. Site OK, as last year more or less. Small but interesting collection

from surface out of land slide. Decorated sherds, large fragments. Same location as last year.

 By Escape school: workers working on road. Little material in work area but deep ditch has

deep sherds running along 1.5 m from surface at foot of slope. Must measure. Small collection.

Sherds in adjacent field. (...) PM: Picked up Earl Kirby around 3:15 pm; drove to Argyle owner;

everything OK. (...).

 

4 June

 (...) Ca. 1:30 pm drop by Buccament; little changes. Fine surface collections in several areas

towards beach: on dirt piles near road construction and below road towards beach. David

collects in area against cliff, then in W. shelter. Some cloud bursts; very humid.

 Ca. 3:30 pm back to Museum. M* and Kirby later. Dismayed and appalled at situation in

storage area. Place broken in and shelves boards stolen. Boxes collapsed, bags. Heaps of sherds

all over the place. A disaster. What to do? (...). Back house ca. 6:00 pm quite discouraged both

of us(…) Henry calls from Guadeloupe. May try to visit. [he didn’t] 

 

5 June

   Sherd washing. Rain, rain, rain! Buccament sherds: “below road” has thin sherds and decoration like Post Office. David’s collection is coarser, thicker. Shelter collection has large

Suazey FIR, griddles as expected, plain ware.

    

6 June

 (...) Ca. 2:00 pm, return to Argyle. Place inspected. Field walked around; just cleared, very

little material. Some large sherds from eroded slope. Most stuff between 2 erosion exposures

south of hill. Nothing further north? - north end of site. (Hill towards Escape still to be

inspected). Vegetation cover quite thick, but approached out of erosion. Small collection from

various places. ... decorated rim, large fragments from wall. Some metal; large axe head.

 

7 June

 See sketch of site.

 

 

 

Beginnings of Argyle Tests

8 June

 First field day at Argyle. Picked

up Clinton at 7:00 am. Some rain

drops but clear. Inspect site. In

major eroded area facing sea: some

small sherds with large concave

metal object out of yellow matrix

(see photo). Small bowl rim sherd

with white bead-like things on rim; 

to look at more carefully later. This

area seems our best bet. Clinton and

David poking around embankment

(...).

 

 

 

 

 

 Ca. 8:15 am, David starts to shovel pit away from edge where larger sherds have been found.

Very loose dark brown soil. Lots of roots; not much at first. Digging ca. 1 x 0.5 m. Some sherds

and possible stone tool ca 40 cm. Soil becomes harder and yellow; many stones, few sherds.

Practically sterile at yellow tuff.

 Pit abandoned. Shovel hole right on top of eroded area yields nothing. Another shovel test to

the south in process. Not promising, considering sherds in eroded profile.

 Shovel tests negative. Problem with ownership and permits. Mr T*, local tenant, says Clinton

digging on his land. Must settle. Possibilities at south end of site. What are we digging in?

Already disturbed? Work stopped ca 11:00 am.(…)Some surface collections including rim

with beads and heavy iron object out of the embankment. Must reconsider project, or go on with

test pits?

 PM: Talk with B* about Museum and Argyle. Things should be OK. Check small rim sherd

with beads: may be glass trade beads and prove historic age of Cayo. Metal fragments and

objects should also be associated. (...) Material from test #1 still to be washed. Does not really

look Cayo but Dev. Saladoid? And belong to Escape occupation. Can it be? (...)

 

 

9 June

 Morning with Earl.(Kirby). First, Mr. Vidal on Young Island about Argyle field. OK. Then to

Argyle. K(irby)’s comments: site was planted with sugar cane down to the sea in the past.

Vegetation today is: crawling sea grapes, grass typical locally, andcanelletree (fish poison), near

low areas. (...) Back to Escape to look at ditch. Drive up the road towards new hotel. Lots of

small sherds on dirt heaps along road. Very small (Dev. Sal.). To go back. On first terrace behind

site, likely same component as in lower ditch as last year.

 Fine view of site behind from there. To go back for photos. Then drive across the river to

famous petroglyphs and Lourdes shrine, right across the back of the site. To go back.

 Return towards Indian Bay. Stop at Mt. Pleasant on different road. Rich site on terrace cut by

road. Collected by Bullens ? Sherds (full bag) from road cut and tree roots. Same component as

lower peanut field at Mt. Pleasant. Appears to have Cayo. (...)

 

10 June

 AM: New test pit just 50 cm east of shovel test done first day. Area cleared by Clinton. Trench

stringed and pickets by David. Dug by 20 cm levels.

 

Level I (0-20 cm),and loose dark brown soil, reddish, hardly anything: oneon slope roots

tiny piece of red jasper. Two gravel size sherds. Bring level on slope to 20 cm. Few sherds tom

20 cm. Brown soil becomes grainy reddish-yellow. Rootless. Few or no small stones. Still easy

to dig. Photo BW + Color. To resume Level II after break II.. LevelPiece of corroded iron near

W wall (sketch 1). Depth 28.5 cm from surface. Some small sherds are associated. After below

25 cm, rocks begin to appear - some may have been tools- one tiny (grater?) Flint chip. One pot

fragment in W wall; to be measured and photo. (65 cm from S into W wall; depth 40-42 cm

below surface. Another large pot piece in S half of W wall. More larger pieces in W ½ of pit.

Brick fragment (?). One historic ceramic in

E ½; under 30 cm dirt becomes harder with

large rocks, smooth like beach or river - one

is 19 x 15 cm. Color becomes greyish, and

hard to dig. Breaks in hard lumps, with

fewer sherds or none. Higher concentration

on upper ½ of pit + wall. Thick brick or

tile-like fragment, more stones - not a brick

but a stone + some sherds. Good size of

sherds at same level under 20-30 cm - one historic decorated sherd in that layer 2 ca. 40 cm.

Possible small pieces of black glass. Down to 18" (50 cm) in upper wall of pit. Sterile when

finished. (...) Upper part richest, may be worth digging upwards. (...)

 

11 June

 (...) Sherd washing - Argyle tests and Mt. Pleasant surface. Mt. Pleasant has coarse pottery,

some Cayo rims (2) but most look like Suazey without diagnostics, e.g. like Leeward Islands or

late Macabou! Area D (Macabou) has some Cayo-like rims.

 Argyle test has 3 white painted sherds! Thick brick-like fragment spalls in 2 and may be same

as sherds with coarse “pebble” surface. 2 of the white sherds are all corroded inside = beer

brewing? 

 (...) David finds a cockroach on his bed when coming back at 10:00. Chases it with a broom and

changes his bedding. (...)

 

13 June

 Clear; very windy at Argyle. Resume test excavations after weekend. Today 1 x 1 m test (test

#2) in lower part of site near eroded surface - S of

surface. C(linton) and D(avid) clear area sufficient

(ca. 2 x 2 m) of crawling sea grape for pit. Check

eroded surface to tuff. Still scattering of very small

sherds, eroded. Some metal. Much green glass

fragments. Some pop caps, plastic, glass seem

recent. Some patinated (glass) sherds kept as sample.

Beer bottles common on surface; old iron too.

 A few surface pieces of red, grey chert-like stuff; sma

cores? One small clay pipe stem from eroded bank. More

pieces of metal artifact by roadside. Plastic and glass but

sherds too associated. Much metal, rusty scraps across

road on beach too. Be careful.

Test #2

Level 1(0-20 cm)Loose brown dark humus with lots of

rootlets. Little or no material. In few first top cm, one sherd and an old glass fragment. Some

small stones; very dark soil. Larger root across units. Level 1 will go to level surface only; a few

interesting sherds. Cayo small bowl. Some stones as elsewhere. Problem getting plan of level -  

leveled with line because of slopy surface. Very little material; stones and roots (Sketch 2). Floor

of Level 1 (surface) all soil; no features. No photos.

Level 2(20 cm)Still loose brown, with rootlets, some stones. 20 cm below SE corner. No

material in first few cms. In the meantime, L(ouis) collects a few sherds, glass, metal on top of

bank near peanut field. Large very regular stone, like hammer left there. Level 2 fine pot sherds

showing up under 30 cm. Some glass. Att: one small “bullet” 

near excavation area. Pit 2: very little material. Dug with shovel to 60 cm in NW corner to

yellow tuff. Hardly anything. Pit abandoned. All in all, not very rewarding day. Takes care of

lower site. David finds sherds across river near bridge. To go again. Some photos of pit from

distance, across road for stratigraphy (Sketch 3) (...).

 

14 June

 Rain in the morning, unsure about digging. Leave before 7:00 am. Weather clearing. After

7:30 extend clearing surface W of pit #1, on upper part of site in extension of pit 1 to 1 x 1 m (Pit

3). There are sherds in W wall - wind strong from the sea. Few sherds on surface. D(avid)

strings out square.

   Level 1.less a step. Loose brown (soil) with rootlets, becomes harder and yellowishMore or

below a few cms. Few stones; no artifacts practically. Difficult conditions today because of

strong winds and sloped terrain for tidy excavation. Dug up top 20 cm: 3 small sherds in all.

Very poor. Mostly shoveled. Under 20 cm, dirt becomes harder and breaks in lumps. Not very

rich; a large field stone in SE corner; larger than usual but few small stones as yet, as in other pits. One neck of old green bottle (18 th or 17 th c.?). A few small sherds. Nothing exiting yet.

 Below 35 cm, sherds and larger rocks begin to appear. One large red jar neck or collar.

Cleared near large rock by David, plan and photo. Other large sherd also appears; unique blue-

green bead in association. Must be trade bead. There seems to be a darker layer below reddish

one, all slope action or original layer? (...)

 While clearing around large pot fragment, notable how large sherd is reddish like paint. Not

found on surface pieces. Ca. 11:00, photos of concentration. Relentless winds while note taking.

Very difficult ... bags just fly away. (...)

 

16 June

 (...) Today extend trench by 1 x 1 m, Pit #4, W of pit #3. Removing 20 cm of top soil, sterile, by

shovel to get to cultural layer.

Level 1. trowel excavation of Level 2 in darker, harder ThenDown to 20 cm by shovel. Sterile.

soil like other pits.

Level 2. Sherds begin to appear in small numbers. One possible botanical. Another glass bead

came out of pit 4. Rock feature. Below ca. 30 cm, rock feature + large pot fragments appear. It

will be cleared first, excavated and photographed. Like Pit #3. Soil humid today. Breaks into

flat lumps; alternates yellow - black = slump action? Small rocks few; rocks well concentrated.

Soil on top of “feature” is dark, humid, greyish dark = organic remains? Some freshly excavated

sherds are distinctively black often reddish like paint when taken out. Soil becomes harder in SW

corner area. One very black rim sherd in that corner. One small clay pipe stem fragment or

tubular bead. One small piece of red jasper. Color slides of the concentration, then removed

more or less middle of unit; large pot fragments, one very black on one face. One larger griddle-

like fragment? (...) (SE=33 cm b.s.; SW= 47 cm; NE= 33 cm; NW=47 cm).

Level 3. almost spherical Below level 2 rock concentration to rocks on W wall of pit #3. Large

rock from wall(E). New level bag. We should be in extension of pit 3's rock concentration.

Matrix very hard, greyish; some rocks. Poor in pottery. Practically sterile. One large sherd in

center of unit stuck on edge in floor, deep! It is a

griddle, Suazey?? Level dug with fork, very hard,

large lumps. Another large cazuela-like piece from

layer. White object in S. wall like coral or shell?

Seems big piece of brain coral. Another large

fragment, same pot? Near W wall in floor, hard.

Deeply set in clayish hard compact grey level below

yellow?

 PM. Sherd washing. May be some Troumassoid

there? Like Caliviny cazuela!! Some surface

textures also like Suazey. Red/black painted

cazuela. 

 

17 June

 Rainy morning at Indian Bay; clearer at site but had rained there during the night. Today clear

around and extend pit 0.5 m to follow rock-pottery concentration. (Sketch 4) (...)

 (Updated 18/6) Soil color ideal for photo because of rain. Photo + video of bank erosion with

soil layers yellow-dark-yellow and some sherds sticking out. Small collection out of wall, and

iron rod object. Base of slope stratigraphy (Sketch 5).

 (18/6) Several slides photo of site and overall stratigraphy, and pits, yet not all cleaned up taken

today, Friday.

  

 Stratigraphy W wall (Sketch 6):

I. Br. + w. rootlets - sterile

II. Yellow granular - sterile, but lenses coming from the S. into

yellow layer.

III. Compact grey clayish w. large rocks.

Note: probably complex slope colluvium stratigraphy.

 Pit 5 (50 cm into S. of Pit 3). 20 cm top layer removed casually -

sterile, to uncover cultural level. Shoveling. E. corner at large rock

left in pit 3. Dig into top yellow level. Att. David says “dark

brown silty”, sterile; LA says: “yellowish sandy”; Clintonsays: “ sandy, hard to retain water”.

Lower level like clay. (Sketch 7).

 Att.: large red jasper fragment (core?) Out of SW corner at 43 cm below surface, on top of grey

compact layer - belongs to Pit 4 level. Removed by LA. Upper yellow level more compact than

grey one below, - near or same context as coral piece. Piece removed; beautiful core.

 Stratigraphy: S. wall of Pit 3 almost all yellow, grey compact must be below, below coral piece.

 Pit 5: rock concentration (?) Begins 37 cm b.s. Some rain interruptions (...).

   Level 2.40-35 b.s. top of rocks, little material. Brown sandy soil. B.s. 35 cm in middle of unit.

More humid, compact brown soil, grainy. Same level bag, begin top of rock concentration. Still

Level 2. Weather: still overcast, some light wind. Comfortable to dig until next shower. Another

white bead out of that unit - some spherical stones?

 Bigger pieces of pot begin to appear below 35 cm with the rocks. Large fragment in S. wall.

Large body sherd from floor of pit 1 in compact clay. Nice unusual Cayo rim in floor of level -

red pigment on surface. Level finished at 40 cm w. concentration. Seems to occur as a circle in

the unit. W. of large rock. Photos: slides and

BW of walls, esp. W and S.

Level 3. Begin Level 3 (below 40 cm) in rock

concentration. Hard, compact grey with rocks,

some large sherds still on surface of level 2 (as

in W wall of unit). Att: small egg-shaped

rocks, often enough. Soil under rocks is greyish

and hard; different texture and “sound” than above. Practically sterile below a few cm of unit. 45

cm below sloping surface level “forked” through: rock fragments in upper part, some small

sherds. Another glass bead from unit. Att: small charcoal flecks in rock concentration.

 

18 June

 Saturday. (Thunderstorm; no work at site)

20 June

 Overcast. Argyle, very windy. Draw stratigraphic profiles. Some humid soil but otherwise site

not damaged by heavy rain on Saturday. Clean walls. String around trenches. Profiles taken of

pit 4: S, W, N walls. Then Pit 5, S + W walls (...) Coral piece removed from pit 4, S wall near

bottom. Measure large rock on floor of trench (Sketch 8); much larger, almost round when

removed (ca 30 x 30 cm). Relentless annoying wind! Take several more or less measurements

for mapping. (Sketches 9, 10, 11). Measurements taken and last strat. profiles in spite of strong

wind and dust and uncomfortable slope. Backfilled some pits. Left site at 12:30.

End of Argyle tests

 

 

21 June

 

 

 

 

 

 

OTHER SITES SURVEYED 1994

 Clear, already muggy. Today survey east coast.

Friendly. Cayo sherds on beach embankment like last year. Sherds below level of garbage, with

possible Barrancoid sherds mixed with heavy black rocks and grey soil and sand. Seems

 

undisturbed there. Large sherds from cut; large iron container in wall almost 35-

40cmhigFragments taken. One fragile top shell; = Caribs? (?) Ca 50 cm but not dense. Ancient

reworked deposits. No modern stuff there. One glass bottle neck near iron object not removed.

Returned to Friendly on the way back. Checked out ditches between beach and road. Some

sherds (large) in low ditch near beach. Deposits are deep. Site must begin S. of sand dune area

with sea grape and pandanus. At place where sherds are exposed, took measurements and photos

with ruler. More sherds from crab holes and parts of iron objects and glass bottle neck (blue)

removed. Stratigraphy is as below (Sketch 13).