I just finished an internship with the Schroeder saddletree project in Madison, Indiana and offered to post this request to MUSEUM-L for my supervisor, John Staicer. Does anyone have experience with recording artifact locations in a standing structure along the same principles used in archaeology? The difference, of course, being that instead of excavating down through the earth you have to walk into a room crammed with artifacts. The Schroeder saddletree factory, started in the 1870s, shut down in 1972 when the last Schroeder died. Most of the workbuildings were left "as is" with unfinished work still on some of the machines or piled in corners in various stages of production. During the life of the factory, things were piled in unused corners because the Schroeders saved just about everything, and then the factory closed it was left exposed to the woodchucks, raccoons, and so forth until about three years ago. Artifact removal has already been carried out in most of the rooms, but John has been holding off on the woodworking shop where the saddletrees were made because this space may be the only source of information about the Schroeders' production process. Removing objects from the room will be an archaeological process except that instead of working from ground level and excavating down, you have to walk into the room and figure out what was part of the room when it was a worksite, what got tossed in unused corners for storage, what got moved around by the rodents, etc. There are piles of sawdust and unfinished saddletrees on the floor, woodworking patterns hanging on the walls and from the ceilings, stuff crammed EVERYWHERE. How can John document where things came from as he takes it all out of the building? (He generally can only work with one or two people, because there is not enough room on the site and he doesn't want to put more stress on the floors which are already collapsing.) He has already taken photos of much of the existing layout but want to figure out a more systematic way to record where things were. This site will eventually be restored as a museum. If anyone has any experience with this sort of situation or knows of any references in the archaeological literature, please let me know! Replies to Carolyn Brady (see address below) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [log in to unmask] | "Real solemn history, I cannot be MA program in Public History | interested in....The quarrels of popes Indiana University- | and kings, with wars or pestilences Purdue University at ü in every page; the men all so good for Indianapolis | nothing, and hardly any women at all." BACK IN TOWN!!! 8-) ü --JANE AUSTEN _____________________________ ü_________________________________________