Little Italy Redevelopment Testing, Artifact Analysis and Curation
Project Overview:
PanGIS provided the Principal Investigator for Historic Archaeology for this redevelopment project in the Little Italy portion of San Diego. PanGIS devised a testing plan for the City and provided on-site project management for the archaeological testing and data recovery of cultural material. Based on the history of the neighborhood and other archaeological excavations in the area, historic deposits were expected to be observed, recovered and recorded.
Scope of Work:
PanGIS staff managed 3-5 archaeologists excavating a series of trenches across one full city block of Little Italy. House foundations, privies, and historic trash deposits were found at the project site. During construction, PanGIS staff wrote the monitoring plan, supervised and conducted monitoring, and wrote the testing report. Due to soil contamination from historic land use, HAZWOPER procedures were included in the testing plan and will be implemented.
After all ground-disturbing activities concluded, the Historic Artifact Analysis commenced. Per CEQA, the Lead Agency determined the need for artifact collection, curation, and documentation. Each artifact was cleaned, photographed, cataloged, and prepared for curation following San Diego Archaeological Center guidelines. Artifacts were analyzed using Stephen Van Wormer’s historic artifact analysis system, including activity group classification, development of functional artifact profiles, and bottled product and culinary bottle analysis. PanGIS staff acted as the Lead Archaeologist for the analysis, authored the Historic Artifact Analysis report, and facilitated curation of the assemblage at the San Diego Archaeological Center. More than 3200 artifacts were found during testing and monitoring activities.
