The University of Hawaii geologists left today and we set up an excavation unit next to their geological pit as they found an adze fragment and shellfish midden in a shallow layer above the paleobeach.

The happy excavation crew at SAT-3, Test Unit 1.

This is a tough excavation as the water table is in a bad place–the silty sand layer right above the sand–and this is very difficult to pump adequately due to the silt, and get somewhat dry sediment for excavation. We were able to get through the silty sand onto sandy loam which is the top of the (likely) earliest calcareous beach identified by the geologists.

Nice shell fishhook found by Shelia Warren (NUS) in the screen/sieve.

When excavating in this mess it is impossible to get very good vertical provenience, but the pottery and fishhook come from the bottom of the silty sand, so on top of the beach. The pottery suggests a deposit at least 1000 years old, but we will see.

Some (non-Lapita) pottery from our Satitioa Village excavations.

This is what the water table does to sidewalls.