But you have to be careful before you dismiss a deposit as non-cultural  
simply because it lacks artifacts. A case in point, a consultant conducted  
mechanical trenching and about a dozen meter square test pits in the lawns and  
parking lots between the U.S. Coast Guard Station, Ballast Point, in 1987. He  
found 50 centimeters of black oily soil on top of a natural cobblestone  layer 
and was flummoxed by the lack of artifacts. My crew revisited the area in  1988 
and opened large block excavation areas. We found he dug in the smoke  plume 
drop area to one side of the 1868-1873 whale oil rendering  tryworks oven. We 
found the entire oven foundation with two firepits caked with  burned whale 
blubber (aka "crackling" or "whale fritters") and a  floor made from salvaged 
18th century Spanish tile. Sample size led to  misinterpretation of the sample 
meaning.
 
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.



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