Test Excavations in State Park Settings: What Actually Happens
Test excavations are a preliminary field method used to sample subsurface deposits before committing to a full-scale dig or development project. They typically involve a grid of units, test pits, or shovel tests laid out across a known or suspected archaeological site. The goal is not to fully expose anything but to collect enough data to understand stratigraphy, artifact distribution, and site boundaries. Reid Harbor State Park sits on the northeastern coast of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. The area has a long record of occupation spanning thousands of years, with shell middens, stone tool debitage, and other cultural materials common along the shoreline and nearby forested terraces. Any excavation work here falls under state and tribal consultation requirements.
Archaeological Test Excavations At Reid Harbor State Park Mary Ann Duncan
Dr. Mary Ann Duncan has been associated with archaeological work in the Puget Sound region for decades. Her published research and reports touch on sites across the Strait of Juan de Fuca and adjacent lowland areas, including surveys and excavations in state park contexts. The specific reference to Reid Harbor comes from reports and permit records tied to work conducted under the Washington State Parks system. Test excavations in a place like Reid Harbor follow standard Pacific Northwest methodology but come with their own set of complications. The ground here is frequently layered with volcanic tephra, glacial till, and organic-rich sediment. Root disturbance from hemlock and fir is constant. The water table can be close to the surface depending on the season. All of that affects how deep you can go and what you actually recover.
How Test Excavations Actually Work on the Ground
Start with a review of existing records. The State Archaeological Gravesham Index, local SHPO files, and tribal historic preservation office records will tell you what has already been found in the area. Reid Harbor has multiple previously recorded sites, so you need to know which ones are still intact and which have been affected by prior disturbance. Next, establish a grid. You can use a handheld GPS for rough placement, but for actual unit layout you need RTK or total station accuracy. A typical test excavation might use 1-by-1 meter units spaced 5 to 10 meters apart, or smaller shovel test pits at 3-meter intervals depending on the project scope. The spacing depends on how much you need to know and how much time and money you have. Excavation proceeds in natural strata when possible. You dig down through each distinct soil layer and screen everything through 1/4-inch mesh, sometimes 1/8-inch for sites where small ecofacts matter. Artifact loci are recorded in three dimensions. Soils are bagged for later flotation or chemical analysis if the project calls for it. Photos are taken at every stage, with scales and north arrows in frame.
Get the Full Details
Backfilling is standard practice for test units that will not be fully excavated. You replace the spoil in reverse stratigraphic order when you can, or at least in a way that does not compromise the integrity of the remaining untouched context. It is not optional at state parks. Leave an open hole and you will have visitors, hikers, or animals pulling material out before you get back to it.
Common Problems and What I Have Done About Them
The biggest issue at Reid Harbor and similar coastal Olympic Peninsula sites is root mat. The fibrous root systems of conifers penetrate deep into archaeological deposits and weave through sediment layers like a net. When you cut a test unit, the roots hold the soil together so well that the walls look stable until they are not. A unit can stand for hours and then slump overnight after a rain. My workaround is straightforward: shore the walls with plywood or use a slide hammer to remove a section and replace it with a boxed unit system. If you are working in a permit environment where shoring is not practical for a quick test, you excavate in smaller increments and photograph the exposed profile before it collapses. That way you still have documentation of the stratigraphy even if the unit partially fails. Another problem specific to this area is tephra layers. The Mount St. Helens June 1980 eruption deposited an ash layer across western Washington that is visible in the archaeological record. It is a useful chronological marker but it can also be mistaken for a sterile or non-cultural layer if you are not paying attention. I have seen junior crew members stop excavation at a thin gray ash line thinking they had hit pre-occupation sterile deposit. The ash is culture-bearing on both sides. You keep digging through it.
Shell preservation is another factor. Acidic soils in parts of the Olympic Peninsula dissolve shell rapidly. If you are looking for shell midden boundaries and the pH is below 5.5, your shell may be partially or entirely gone. You will still find stone tools and charcoal. Expect sparse shell and do not assume absence of occupation based on lack of shell alone.
What Test Excavations Do Not Tell You
Test excavations have real limits. They give you a point sample, not a full picture. A single 1-by-1 meter unit might miss a features cluster that sits three meters away. You can extrapolate, but extrapolation is not confirmation. If your test units return negligible finds, that could mean the site is absent, it could mean the site is beyond your testing area, or it could mean the site is deeply buried under post-glacial fill. For state park projects, the threshold for determining significance often requires more than test excavation data alone. The Washington State Historic Preservation Office and the State Archaeologist typically expect a full survey report with recommended treatment before any further ground disturbance is approved. Test results feed into that decision but rarely finalize it. Another limitation is equipment access. Reid Harbor has limited parking and trail access. Heavy gear like coring rigs, soil corers, or portable XRF analyzers may not be practical to carry in. Lighter hand tools are the default, which means your sampling intensity is lower than it would be at a site with road access. Plan for slower progress and smaller unit counts.
Practical Steps if You Are Planning This Kind of Work
First, secure the proper permits. Work in a state park requires coordination with the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission and likely the local tribal historic preservation office. The process can take several months. Start early and do not assume a memo of understanding is sufficient without formal written approval. Second, pull the existing site records. The Gravesham Index and the Washington Information Center for Archaeological Research (WICAR) database will show you what has been documented in the vicinity. Reid Harbor has multiple recorded sites. You need to know which ones overlap with your proposed testing area. Third, design your test grid based on what you already know, not on a blank slate. If previous work identified a midden deposit at a certain elevation and aspect, place your units there rather than randomly across the park. Random testing in a known occupation zone wastes time and permit capital.
Fourth, bring the right screening setup. A simple soil sifter with 1/4-inch mesh works for general recovery. If you need finer resolution for bone fragments, fish vertebrae, or small lithic debitage, add a 1/8-inch mesh or a water screen. Water screening is more effective in gravelly or compact soils where dry sieving misses material. Fifth, document everything in the field. Lab notes are fine for follow-up analysis, but they do not replace field documentation. Every unit needs a sketch, a photo log, a soil description, and a finds list with provenience. If you lose that data, the excavation did not happen.
When Test Excavations Are the Wrong Approach
If you are dealing with a site that has already been extensively looted or eroded, test excavations may add little value. The remaining deposits could be too disturbed to yield reliable information. In those cases, a pedestrian survey with intensively searched surface collection is more efficient than subsurface testing. Similarly, if the project area is covered by recent fill, road construction, or building foundations, test excavations will mostly recover modern debris. A Phase I survey focusing on historical records and map analysis may be more productive than throwing money at ground truthing that is unlikely to succeed. For deeply buried sites under thick forest duff or alluvial deposits, earthwork or trenching with a backhoe equipped with a trowel operator can be more effective than hand-excavated test units. But that requires a different permit pathway and different safety protocols. Hand test excavations are the conservative choice, not the only choice.
Data Management After the Dig
Field data from test excavations at Reid Harbor or anywhere in Washington State typically feeds into a formal report following the State Archaeologist's guidelines. That means a written narrative, artifact inventories, flotation results, dating evidence, and a determination of significance. The report becomes part of the permanent record held by the State Archaeological Gravesham Index. Artifacts from state park work are usually curated at the Burke Museum or another approved repository. You need to arrange curation before you start digging, not after. Repositories have their own intake requirements and may refuse collections that are not properly bagged, labeled, and accompanied by a chain-of-custody form. Digital data should be backed up in at least two locations. Field tablets fail. Memory cards get lost. A single laptop with all your locus maps, photos, and lab sheets is a single point of failure. Use cloud storage in addition to a physical drive.
References and Further Reading
Reports on Mary Ann Duncan's work and related testing in the Reid Harbor area can be found through the Washington State Parks archaeological records and the State Archaeologist's office. The gravesham index entry system and WICAR provide searchable access to most published reports from state-funded or state-permitted projects. Tribal historic preservation offices for the Makah and other regional nations also maintain records relevant to the area.
