CLASS student digs for answers

After completing her freshman year studying anthropology at U of I, Elise Provant wasn’t 100% sure she had picked the right major – mainly because she hadn’t done any field work yet.

Problem solved.

Provant was one of several U of I students who took part in the archaeological excavation at the site of the former U.S. Assay Office in downtown Boise. The office was built in 1871 by the U.S. Treasury Department.  

The excavation was the latest project led by Idaho Public Archaeology and U of I faculty members Mark Warner, professor of anthropology, Renae Campbell, assistant professor of Asian American historical archaeology and Katrina Eichner, associate professor of anthropology. 

The Boise excavation was the tenth public archaeological event conducted by the group. These projects have resonated with the public, as the sites have attracted over 4,600 visitors, with over 350 of them volunteering a total of nearly 5,000 hours.

Students from U of I, Boise State University, the College of Western Idaho and community volunteers participated in the two-week project in Boise.  

“Looking back, it really solidified that I want to do archaeology,” Provant said. “Just the field work aspect of it. It’s hard work, but also, it’s like ‘yeah, I actually enjoy this’.”

Assay offices were established to test the purity of precious metals like gold and silver so they could be certified as authentic. Many of the items excavators found could easily be traced to that occupation – pieces of metal, lab equipment, etc.

But according to Provant, the state assayer and his family lived in the same building, so some of their waste and/or belongings ended up being excavated in the same area as the assay office debris.

“We found a bunch of doll parts, which I thought was really cool,” she said. “We found a little figurine of a boy riding a goat and another doll that still had color on it.”

During her time at the excavation site, Provant learned how to excavate, including techniques for digging and how to clean, bag and tag the artifacts once they’ve been excavated so they can be traced back to exactly where they were found.

She also spent a lot of time screening the dirt that was excavated. This involved moving buckets of soil through screens to recover the many small artifacts, such as figurines, that are important in helping archaeologists understand the past.

Not only did the excavation give Provant a chance to experience field work, but it also gave her a chance to work in front of a crowd. The site was open to the public, and the event was also captured by news cameras. All of that attention made it tough for Provant to conceal her best find – an intact glass bottle.

She said whole glass bottles are potentially valuable and excavation sites are often prone to people looking for them if they know one has been found. So she had to keep her find quiet until everyone else had left for the day.

“I wasn’t allowed to talk about it until the day was done,” she said. “Then I got to dig it up and go around and show everyone. And it was so cool!”