“Better call Campus Archaeology…”

Construction workers at the Brody Complex uncovered an enormous layer of trash, which was probably from the old City of East Lansing landfill. The project manager discovered it when she visited the site to examine a water main that had been hit. Bottles were floating to the surface, and she said, “you better call Campus Archaeology”.

Over the weekend I visited the site and took a sample of the artifacts that had already been extracted by the workers. This sample was primarily glass bottles of varying types and shapes. Of particular interest was a MSC Creamery bottle, and multiple Lansing Creamery Bottles. The stratigraphy was made up of many levels of fill, indicating that the site has been very active just before, during, and after the construction of the Brody Complex. It was reminiscent of the fill layers found near Faculty Row, which indicated a significantly altered landscape during the building of the West Circle Dormitory Complex. Because the trash pit is extremely deep and, according to construction workers, ubiquitous at the site, we have decided to let the construction continue without further investigation at this time. (Visit the Brody Site Flickr Gallery for more photos).

Author: Terry Brock