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“I assume you all have survey experience?” Brynn asked.
Olivia groaned inwardly, knowing TJ had been waiting for an opening.
“Of course,” he said. “In much harsher conditions. We’re talking real mountains, not these piddly hills. Crossing streams and hiking up cliff faces. Taking on wildlife and battling giant bugs.”
Then he was off, regaling them with one of his lengthy stories. Olivia wasn’t eager for another TJ saga, but if he dominated the conversation, she wouldn’t be put on the spot about her lack of experience.
The drive to the survey location took fifteen minutes. They parked alongside the road, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Stretched before them were rows of plowed farm fields, dotted with the occasional scrubby tree.
Olivia, TJ, and Brynn followed Rick out of the car and gathered around him. Even at seven in the morning, the blazing sun promised another scorching day.
“Any questions before we head out?” Rick asked.
Though Olivia could have used a quick refresher, she didn’t want to slow down the group. Fortunately, Brynn spoke up. “Could you go over the basic parameters again?”
“That would be great,” Olivia added.
“Okay,” Rick said. “We’re mainly looking for pieces of broken pottery, known as potsherds. Bonus points if you spot any stone tools, like arrowheads, harvesting knives, or grinding stones, because they’re older and might indicate a Stone Age settlement. If you can find one of those, I guarantee Dr. Roth will be thrilled.”
Olivia smiled as she remembered the professor’s enthusiasm during the hands-on display in the lab. Unlike Grant’s lecture, his presentation had been lively and energetic.
Rick continued. “If you find a cluster of artifacts, record it. The cluster might indicate the presence of an archaeological site. But it might also mean the debris was churned up when the farmer plowed his field. Either way, we need to know where it is.” He cast a pointed look at Brynn, who was scrolling through her phone. “Got it?”
Brynn put her phone in her back pocket. “Courtney said her team’s already started. We’re going to fall behind.”
“It’s not a race,” Rick said. “But if you’re ready, we can get going.”
“No, you can finish your explanation,” Brynn muttered.
Olivia itched to chastise Brynn for her rudeness, but she held her tongue.
Remember, Rick’s the one in charge. Let him handle it.
Rick gestured to the field in front of them. “This is where we’ll start today’s survey. Each transect is a mile long and ten feet across. We’ll be walking parallel to each other, with a slight gap between us. Walk in a zigzag, and scan the ground as you go. Artifact clusters should be marked on the GPS as waypoints, then photographed and written up in your field notebook. We’ll meet after the first transect and take a break. The second transect will bring us back—more or less—to our starting point here. Okay?”
Brynn rolled her eyes. “I guess. It seems so complicated.”
“Think of it like one of those police shows where people fan out to search for someone who’s missing,” Rick said. “We’re doing that with artifacts.”
“Piece of cake,” TJ said. “We’ll whip through it in no time.”
Brynn glared at him. “It won’t be that easy, Teej.”
“Finding pottery in cultivated fields is a snap. It’s not nearly as tough as surveying in the mountains, like when I—”
“Enough with the stories,” she said.
Rick held up his hand. “Let’s get going. Is everyone ready?”
Anything to ward off an argument between TJ and Brynn. Olivia took a final drink from her water bottle. “Ready.”
Once they began walking, Olivia’s jittery nerves gave way to excitement. Though the odds of finding a significant site were slim, the possibility still existed. What if she discovered one of those elusive Stone Age sites? She could imagine the thrill of coming back to camp and showing everyone what she’d found. In your face, Grant.
She kept her eyes on the ground as she walked her route, but nothing of interest came into view. All she saw were small rocks, churned-up earth, more rocks, and more dirt. Until she spotted something that wasn’t a rock. Small pieces of pottery were scattered by her feet.
She crouched down, picked up the largest piece, and wiped off the dirt. Nice. It was a burnished red color, but she couldn’t tell what era it was from. She’d snapped photos of the samples they’d studied in the lab with her phone. But even with the close-ups she’d taken, she couldn’t distinguish whether the pieces she’d found were from the Roman era or much older. She pawed around in the dirt and unearthed a few more potsherds.
Sitting back on her heels, she reviewed her photos again. What would it hurt to mark this spot and make a few notes? Better to record her finds than overlook something important.
