Just realized the burned layer at that Ohio site probably isn't a fire, and it cost me 3 weeks

Jade Nelson · 2026-10-30T11:35:05.564017+00:00

I spent almost a month last spring convinced a dark charcoal band at a dig near Newark, Ohio was a burned structure floor, and I built a whole report around it. I kept re-photographing the section and logging depths, but a retired soil scientist visiting on a Saturday pointed out the band followed the old plow line instead of any post holes. Digging two small test pits past the layer showed the same dark color in spots with no artifacts at all, which finally convinced me it was farm runoff staining. I had been looking at the same photos for weeks and just kept seeing what I expected. Has anyone else had a plain soil feature fool them this long?

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Just realized the burned layer at that Ohio site probably isn't a fire, and it cost me 3 weeks | Archaeology Discoveries - Hub Chatter