We were right. I can confidently say it IS a hut. How did I work that out?
The next time I was working in the area of Mound 1, a couple of days later, I started clearing back the surface matting of roots and soil on the inner east wall side to see if I could find a clear clue that this was a hut. And I found it pretty early on: a row of evenly laid stones below. And during the brushing down of the stones so I had it nice and pristine for the photos, yet another piece of tin started to emerge. But this I left there. I knew I did not yet have the authority to dig further once I had established I had a hut, and no more work would be done here this season. So exciting. My first significant find for the season, with little more than 2 weeks left to go....! So satisfying..... and yes, something of a relief. I covered the stones with foliage, wondering whether it would stay protected from damage after I’d gone. After all, it is right by the road to Macetown, albeit dropped at a lower level and for the most part screened by trees and vegetation. But most people around here are good - hikers/nature enthusiasts who only pass through Cooper’s Terrace. Unless they stop to look around the exposed ruins on the other side of the road. I took my tools back to camp, locked them in Angus’s big steel lockbox, hoisted the backpack and set off home.
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Jan MorrisonProject Manager of an archeological dig of a 1800s European mining settlement near Arrowtown, Central Otago. Archives
April 2021
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