RAPID: Emergency Excavation of Eroding Structure, Walakpa, Alaska

这是一个快速项目，为Walakpa（Ualiqpaa）考古遗址的抢救性考古发掘提供资金，该遗址位于阿拉斯加北坡，距离巴罗以南约12英里。该项目将支持对最近暴露在Walakpa当前侵蚀面的结构进行部分挖掘，并允许对由此产生的收集物进行紧急稳定和有限的初步分析。 挖掘工作将尽快进行，因为由于永久冻土的融化，以及许多好奇的休闲游客的干扰，该结构的一部分受到海崖坍塌的威胁。它几乎肯定会随着2013赛季的第一场秋季大风暴而消失。构造细节和架构将被记录，工件的分布也将被记录。将酌情取样进行C14测年、宏观植物学和木材分析。 鉴于情况的紧迫性，研究项目的重点将是挖掘结构和底层文化地层的底切和解冻部分，如果存在的话，以避免进一步的破坏性坍塌，然后在时间和资金允许的情况下继续挖掘剩余的结构和相关的垃圾堆。由于立即可用的时间和资金很可能不足以挖掘整个结构，因此将进行挖掘，以便在该季节被迫停止挖掘时，能够稳定和保护现场，目的是能够获得额外的资金进行完整的挖掘和分析。

This is a RAPID project to fund salvage archaeological excavations on the Walakpa (Ualiqpaa) archaeological site, an important site located on the North Slope of Alaska about 12 miles south of Barrow. This project will support a partial excavation of the structure that has been recently exposed in the current erosion face at Walakpa, and allow for emergency stabilization and limited preliminary analysis of the resulting collections. The excavation will take place as soon as possible, as part of the structure is endangered by slumping of the bluff due to thawing of permafrost, as well as disturbance by the many curious recreational visitors. It will almost certainly be lost with the first big fall storm of the 2013 season. The construction details and architecture will be documented, as will the distribution of artifacts. Samples will be taken for C14 dating, macrobotanical and wood analysis, as appropriate. Given the urgency of the situation, the research project focus will be on excavating the undercut and thawing portions of the structure and underlying cultural strata, if present, to avoid further disruptive collapse first, and then proceed with excavation of as much of the remaining structure and associated midden as time and funds allow. Since the immediately available time and funds will most likely not be sufficient to excavate the entire structure, excavations will be carried out so that the site can be stabilized and protected when excavations are forced to terminate for the season, with the intention that additional funds can be obtained for complete excavation and analysis.