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57 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, April 9, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend March 5, 2004 Oregon Department of Transportation archaeologists Pat O�Grady and Julie Schablitsky wrap up a two-week dig near the junction of Oregon and California streets in Jacksonville. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Diggers sift Jacksonville history Two archaeologists dig up artifacts in the path of the Highway 238 reconstruction project By SANNE SPECHT Mail Tribune JACKSONVILLE — Two archaeologists are protecting Jacksonville’s hidden historical treasures while its streets get a long overdue facelift. Digging through several layers of dirt and history, the team is painstakingly unearthing artifacts from a life lived long ago — Chinatown in the 1860s. Bits of broken glass bottles, chewed stems from smokers’ pipes and other objects yet to be identified are carefully being cleaned and catalogued by the Oregon Department of Transportation’s two archaeologists — Julie Schablitsky, 34, and Patrick O’Grady, 44. In front of the Thai House Restaurant, near the junction of Oregon and California streets, O’Grady uses a small hand trowel to scrape away sections 50 by 50 centimeters wide and 10 centimeters deep. Carefully placing the earth on a 1/8-inch mesh screen, O’Grady sifts for artifacts. Advertisement "We pick out all the artifacts, wash them, date them, and glean what we can," explains Schablitsky. One piece, a formerly white and now encrusted piece of curved porcelain, still remains a mystery. The archaeologists are not sure whether it’s part of an old doll, a knickknack or something else entirely. ODOT is beginning a $3.5 million project that will rebuild a one-mile stretch of Highway 238 running smack through the center of the historic town. The rehabilitation project will take some of Jacksonville’s streets down to below grade. The town’s rich history and the project’s scope brought ODOT’s two top archaeology guns to town to ensure history isn’t forfeited in the name of progress. Federal and state laws mandate ODOT to minimize or mitigate impact on historical sites. Federal law also requires protection for items 50 years old or older, state law items 75 and older. Consequently, ODOT funds more archaeology research than any other agency in the state, says Schablitsky. Field work is often handled by college interns. But since Jacksonville is listed as a National Historic Landmark, the two doctors of archaeology tagged this project for themselves. "My expertise is urban historical archaeology," says Schablitsky. "Besides, we hardly get out to dig anymore." While they work to protect Jacksonville’s history, they are also charged with avoiding delays to ODOT’s project. "Our job is to find the items, extract them and get out of the way," she says. Displaying a 2-inch piece of slate pencil and a pipe stem, Schablitsky says she will do further testing on the stem. Barely discernible printing tells her the smoker’s pipe was manufactured by MacDougal in Glasgow, Scotland. But an even closer look reveals two tiny dents. "See the teeth clench marks?" she asks. Schablitsky says science has developed a way to extract human DNA from inanimate, personal artifacts. "We’ll be able to see if this person was male or female," she says. "And we’ll be able to see if he or she passed it around. We will also be able to tell race." O’Grady said the artifacts eventually will be displayed in the Museum of Natural History at the University of Oregon. A list of the items will be shared with the Southern Oregon Historical Society. Schablitsky and O’Grady expect more finds while protecting the town’s buried architectural features. The two U of O graduates say they are aware the town has cisterns buried in the middle of the street. What they don’t know, they say, is what condition the cisterns are in. Are they collapsed, filled with dirt or filled with artifacts? "We have a plan. We know where to expect to find things," says Schablitsky. "But there’s always the surprise of the inadvertent discovery." Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 776-4497 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times