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Finally got a clear picture of the old well site after three months of rain

We've been working on a dig near Tucson for about a year now, and there's this one section, an old well site, that was just a total mess. For the first nine months, every time we'd clear a layer, the next rain would just wash more silt and small rocks back in. It looked like a muddy pit, and we couldn't see any structure at all. Then, this past dry season, we put in a simple French drain about ten feet uphill. The difference after just three months with no new washout is crazy. Now we can actually see the stone lining of the well and even some pottery fragments that were always hidden before. It's a small thing, but finally seeing the actual features instead of just mud feels like a real win. Has anyone else had a site where fixing one basic water issue changed everything you could see?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim_west20d ago

The dig at Mission San Xavier had the same problem with a trash midden. They put in a shallow swale to redirect runoff and the next week found three whole metates. Water management is half the battle on these sites.

lisa74918d ago

I used to think that was overkill but wow.

nora_taylor7919d agoMost Upvoted

Ever try a silt fence? We used the cheap orange construction stuff and it was a game changer for holding back loose dirt.