Thank you, so many of you, for your information, questions and answers
initiated by my Landfill reference question. There were so many varied and
interesting comments and questions concerning my query. I am overwhelmed by
the response and discussion generated by this request. There have been some
very good references pointed out to me, many of which I was unaware of and
such is the beauty of a list such as this. There are far too many projects,
far too many people working in the field and far too large a literature out
there for any one of us to keep track of, even in a limited subject area.
Now, for some of the specifics of the project. The site was excavated in two
phases, beginning in May as a Section 106 DISCOVERY situation as part of the
rebuilding of a freeway through Salt Lake City. Prior to beginning the
work, the site was determined ELIGIBLE to the NRHP by the DOT, a decision
concurred with by the SHPO for its potential research potential. Initially,
it was not clear exactly what was present since there was very little area
that could be exposed around the existing freeway. It was determined,
however, that it was an urban trash deposit dating ca. 1930s which was at
least 12 feet in depth. Initial assessment only provided very limited
information around a single backhoe hole. The horizontal extent was not
known at the time (most of it lay under the existing freeway).
Because this is a "design-build project" and needing to move forward to
completion within a specific time frame, there was a need to have the project
move forward as quickly as possible to make way for paving of this portion of
the freeway. That was definitely a challenge, but, the work was completed as
planned and further excavation was undertaken a few weeks later in adjacent
lanes of the freeway.
The volume of cultural material that came from the units able to be dug was
enormous (perhaps 20 cu ft per 2 x 2 m unit). We feel that we obtained an
adequate sample of material to answer quite a number of questions relating to
urban trash disposal methods of the 1930s, ethnic questions (ceramics of
Japanese origin were found in all of the units excavated), questions related
to consumer behavior patterns and other questions of a general urban nature
that such a volume of material, from a fairly limited time frame, may help to
answer. Also of particular interest were the kinds of artifacts that were
expected, but were not represented in the proportions expected.
Related questions which are still seeking answers include why this area was
chosen for disposal and exactly who disposed there. No records nor knowledge
of the dump itself have yet been found. I find that exceedingly interesting
in itself, considering its relatively recent age. It says volumes about how
quickly our past is forgotten (even such a large feature such as this) and
how important historical archaeology can be in helping to reconstruct it.
I will update the list periodically on our progress and welcome any other
comments concerning landfill sites.
Mike Polk
Sagebrush Consultants, L.L.C.
Ogden, Utah
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