Findlay archaeologist said her work isn't like Indiana Jones

Kate Hayfield will tell you that being an archaeologist isn't nearly as exciting as the fictional Indiana Jones would have you believe. "He lied to you. I'm sorry to break it to you," she told those who attended a recent Brown Bag Lecture program at the Hancock Historical Museum. Her talk was titled "Indiana Jones Lied to You!: An Archaeologist's Perspective." Hayfield of Findlay is an archaeologist with more than 20 years of experience working in cultural resource management contexts in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in history from Defiance College and a postgraduate diploma in archaeology and ancient history from the University of Leicester, England "We do a lot of really neat stuff. We do a lot of really boring stuff as well," she said. "Sorry to break it to you but I don't swing on vines. We deal with snakes every once in awhile. But usually it's just we dig a lot of holes." Since 2003, Hayfield has worked for The Mannik & Smith Group, Inc. in Maumee as a field director, crew chief, project archaeologist and exhibits coordinator on numerous projects. She is part of the cultural resources department. "Basically we're the red tape people. If there are federal or state funds involved, we come in as archaeologists. We see if there's anything there. If there is, we document it. If it's cool, we document it some more. If it's really cool and we can't avoid destroying it (for a project), we excavate it and curate it and research it and write reports about it," she said. Hayfield said they do three types of surveys to determine if a site is clear. Phase I is a reconnaissance survey designed to locate an archaeological site within a project area. "We're looking for anything over 50 years because that's considered historic," she said. "We're also looking for anything prehistoric, so thousands and thousands of years." Holes are dug every 10 to 15 meters, depending on the project. They search for artifacts like pottery, stoneware, spoons, bottles and prehistoric tools. Any finds are placed in bags and numbered. The location is identified using GPS, she said. If something of greater significance is found, a second, more intensive level survey/site evaluation is in order, she said. The team will also delineate the boundaries to try and find out where the site actually stops. "Basically we dig bigger holes; one meter by one meter units," said Hayfield. A Phase III survey involves data recovery and mitigation planning, she said. This would document a significant archaeological site so that important cultural information can be sufficiently recorded before continuing with the development project. "Let's say we find something really, really cool. They can't avoid it, such as when they built a bridge in Defiance. We're going to take out the entire site and we're going to be super meticulous with our checkerboard patterns and our one-by-one meter units," she said. Hayfield said sometimes the items found belong in a museum. "A lot of the projects we work on, we have agreement that we will curate all of their artifacts. And that means we'll find a museum that will accept all of our trash," she said. "That's what it is, especially all of our historic trash." In Findlay, for example, there wasn't any public trash service until the 1960s, she said. Instead, residents made their own landfills. "It's neat stuff, but it's trash. It tells a lot about the people who lived here," said Hayfield. Larger items are often sent to the state historic preservation office. Smaller artifacts such as those found in Phase I surveys are returned to the property owners, said Hayfield. She has also been involved in cemetery projects such as the former Miami Children's Home property in Maumee. The land had been purchased and work was started on new housing development when a skull was found, said Hayfield. "The first thing you do in that situation or any situation, even if we find a baby tooth, we call the coroner," she said. The skeleton dated back to the late 1800s, early 1900s. All construction stopped and the landowner paid to excavate the area. Hayfield said GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) showed at least seven burials which turned out to be 43, she said. "These were people who didn't have money or families, it was just a potter's field. And back before there were backhoes, digging graves wasn't a fun thing to do so they were buried on top of each other, next to each other," said Hayfield. The bones were later reinterred in Maumee's Riverside Cemetery. "It was unfortunate that these people had to be dug up from their eternal resting place, but it was an honor to give them the respect that they deserved," Hayfield said.