RuMert Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 (edited) Hi all! Answering @jpc's question about the site's accessibility in winter and if we actually dig under snow. Yes, we do! (something must be not right in the head). Today we tried the dig at -1C'. Had to make a pretty big hole too (the deepest I've seen there). No big teeth found, hopes for the micro-matrix. Edited January 7, 2022 by RuMert 1 19 My sites & reports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castle Rock Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 One word comes to mind.....DEDICATION!!! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 Gotta love this 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 Thanks for sharing! 1 hour ago, RuMert said: something must be not right in the head Absolutely and completely ok ! Now its time to beat that!! Franz Bernhard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 You guys sure do take this seriously! 1 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelivingdead531 Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 Nope, too cold for me. However, I admire your dedication! That’s an impressive hole you guys dug, I would get stuck down there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 You guys are demented (in a good way, of course!). Is that you down in the hole? I hope the sides are stable, that looks like an incipient human fossil in the making. Ever think about turning the hole and tunneling horizontally (with appropriate bracing of course)? Don 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 I love seeing folks who are not afraid of winter. I went to one of my dino bone sites once at minus 10 F (-23C) and got my truck stuck in a snow drift on the way. After digging it out for an hour, I found the site was frozen solid. No one was collecting any bones that day. So after a two hour drive, I went home. I no longer try to collect on the winter unless it is above freezing. I did do a day of birding on Jan 1 with a high of 15F (-9C). 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 There was a time when I used to visit my honey holes even in the middle of winter, but those days are long gone now. Now I just go bike riding when the streets are clear 1 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 Wow, that does absolutely seem crazy (to me)! Then again, you did pick the better day for it, since, if the baltics are any measure, it must've still pretty much been -15° C or worse until recently. But that's coming from what they call a "nice weather archaeologist", that is archaeologists working in better climes like the Caribbean or Latin America. And maybe I've acclimatise as it took much to local traditions concerning cold weather I admired your dedication, though. And at least the ground seems to have been a lot easier to dig through 1 'There's nothing like millions of years of really frustrating trial and error to give a species moral fibre and, in some cases, backbone' -- Terry Pratchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat in the Hat Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 I got the shivers just looking at those photos. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilhunter21 Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 Wow! Thanks for sharing! @fossilhunter21 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 Very Impressive. I dont shy away from the cold, but snow! 1 Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuMert Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 Thanks everybody! The layer turned out to be at least 1,5 m under the creek bed in this exact place. Good thing there were 5 ppl digging, so that the overburden was quickly removed. The amount of target matrix was pretty small, like 1m in diameter and 30 cm deep. The hole was too deep to scoop out water efficiently, so only passing buckets old fireman-style helped with containing the water level. By the end showed up a father with two little daughters, they came precisely to Fili Park for viewing fossils and even had a small traffic accident on the way. And that's with the park being almost empty apart from some solitary suspicious youths. That's how the place is popular fossil-wise, basically a meeting place for hobbyists 5 hours ago, Ludwigia said: You guys sure do take this seriously! I went mostly for experience and telling cool stories later 5 hours ago, FossilDAWG said: Is that you down in the hole? I hope the sides are stable, that looks like an incipient human fossil in the making. Ever think about turning the hole and tunneling horizontally Nope It's a friend of mine, the mastermind behind all the Fili winter digging. We didn't think of that, all we do is pretty amateurish and this would require a full-scale excavation with appropriate equipment 4 hours ago, jpc said: After digging it out for an hour, I found the site was frozen solid. No one was collecting any bones that day. So after a two hour drive, I went home. I no longer try to collect on the winter unless it is above freezing. Frozen soil is the main problem with winter digging and surface collecting, one degree can make a huge difference. But this doesn't stop people with pickaxes and such. Then again, it's mostly a one-time activity 2 hours ago, pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon said: Then again, you did pick the better day for it Yep, though a couple degrees less wouldn't spoil it as the creek doesn't freeze and soaks everything with water. It's also a holiday 2 My sites & reports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyw Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 If i ever got in a hole like that you would either need a crane to get me out or just cover me over when we were through! Looks like great fun though and something i’d try if i was 30 years younger and 75 pounds lighter! Can’t wait to see what comes out of it! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jared C Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 That's what it's about! What a cool experience (pun intended) 1 “Not only is the universe stranger than we think, it is stranger than we can think” -Werner Heisenberg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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