Kentucky Archeological Survey hosts first weekly wash night

Allie Schallert / College Heights Herald

Ali Shackelford, a senior biology major with a concentration in anthropology, right, talks to Heather Pursley while she cleans glass. Shackelford has experience washing bones for class but comes to the wash nights to clean the artifacts for fun. Allie Schallert / College Heights Herald

Damon Stone, News reporter
September 1, 2022

Editor’s note: A previous edition of this article incorrectly stated the title of the Kentucky Archaeological Survey. The Herald regrets the error.

The Kentucky Archeological Survey hosted its first weekly wash night on Wednesday, Aug. 31 in Cherry Hall, giving students the opportunity to get their hands dirty working with artifacts.

Students washed various artifacts collected from the Mammoth Cave Campground. The artifacts included ceramic and glass objects, like plates and bottles.

The students theorized the location may have been a dumping ground for a nearby hotel and railroad track that operated from 1866 to 1931. Railway spikes have been found at the site. 

Heather Pursley, a junior Anthropology major with a concentration in archeology, places a washed piece of glass onto a tray of washed glass at the Kentucky Archeology Survey’s wash night in Cherry Hall on Aug. 31, 2022. Allie Schallert / College Heights Herald (Allie Schallert / College Heights Herald)

The process of cleaning an artifact contains a few important steps.

“The first thing we do is give them an FS number, or field specimen number, and we write it down and catalog it,” Heather Pursley, a sponsor of the KAS, said. “Depending on what materials they are, we will wash them … and then we put them on styrofoams, and line them in paper towels, so they dry a little bit better.”

Pursley said the field specimen and site numbers are written on a piece of masking tape and the artifacts are placed on racks to dry before they are catalogued.

Heather Pursley, a senior a junior Anthropology major with a concentration in archeology, washed a piece of glass with a few pieces sitting in a colander at the Kentucky Archeology Survey’s wash night in Cherry Hall on Aug. 31, 2022. Allie Schallert / College Heights Herald (Allie Schallert / College Heights Herald)

The group plans to meet every Wednesday night and appreciates volunteers. If interested, contact [email protected] or [email protected]. 

News reporter Damon Stone can be contacted at [email protected].