Montbrook Florida Fossil Dig

[Shellseeker]

So, I volunteered to help excavate Gomphotheres or Rhinos or something from 6-10 myas under the guidance of Richard Hulbert and the University of Florida's Paleontology department. Yesterday was the last day of the October, 2017 to May 2018 digging season. It is intended to avoid the wet and rainy season.

I am pleased that my work would help advance the dig, but I volunteered because I thought that I would enjoy it, and I did.

I was given great directions and I arrived at the site just before 10 am. It was on a Horse/Cattle farm out in the middle of rural Florida.  It was basically flat land leading to a hole surrounded at various points with Sandbags.

Richard distributed volunteers to work on the accomplishment of 4 tasks: Excavate and Plaster Jacket 1 Rhino Adult Skull, 1 Gomph Baby/Juvenile skeleton, 1 Rhino baby skeleton, a femur and humerus from 1 or 2 Gomphs.

I was assigned along with John, to assist an experienced volunteer, Susan in working on the baby Rhino skeleton. The Skull had not yet been found.

After 2 hours of scrapping and digging around the skeleton mass with a screwdriver, we had the start of discovery trenches. If we found any small bones (usually toe or ankle bones, fish vertebrae, catfish spines, and some turtle shell and bones), we bagged them separately. Had we found anything that might be part of our rhino, we would have left it for inclusion in the plastic jacket) .  Here is a photo of Susan and John as we were digging: The Rhino is between them.

After about 2 hours, we reached a problem: Both trenches, mine and John's had bones in them: Richard came over to advise.

I was trenching on the left, Richard's foot is next to the start of a Gomph bone going UNDER the Rhino skeleton.  On the right, John s starting to uncover many bones. Richard suggested that I dig under and around the Gomph bone to see if it ended shortly and whether we had a possibility of extracting it without damage to the Rhino. He suggested that John pursue a slightly different path trying to avoid the bones.

Unfortunately, John exposed the baby Rhino's bones above but could not find a clear path and I could not find a way to extract the Gomph bone.  Because this was the last day and we had little or no flexibility, Richard decided to repack the baby rhino with sand, then sandbags, then more dirt/clay and finally a tarp to attempt protection from weather and floods in the wet season..  Well, maybe next time.

However, the other 3 tasks were completed !!!

Here is that other Adult Rhino Skull excavated, trenched, in the process of being plaster jacketed.

Wrapped in a plaster jacket. After the plaster dries, Richard used a sledge hammer to drive 2 shovel heads under the Adult Rhino skull, and break thru the underlying sand and clay.  Then roll it over into a steel web meshing, still a couple of steel rods thru the web mesh and get 6 pall bearers to carry the remains up the hill to the Museum van.  I was one of those 6.

We had a nice day, overcast to keep it a little cooler.  I left at 3 pm with a 5 hour drive home. The driving rains started at about 4 pm and continued for the rest of the day.

All in all, a great weekend.

[Peace river rat]

You have been a busy fella lately, I am glad to see you had these oppurtunities. Thanks for the virtual, shotgun seat!

[Tidgy's Dad]

Indeed, you have been keeping yourself busy, great photos and a very interesting and worthwhile thing to be doing. 

Thanks. 

[Miocene_Mason]

Very cool! 

[MeargleSchmeargl]

I want to do one of these. Too bad I live in the Piedmont region of GA, right smack dab in the middle of it.

[digit]

Nice report, Jack!

 

I've unfortunately been too busy with other tasks to make the trip up to Montbrook this season. Glad to see some really nice things are coming out of the dig site. The more interesting and unusual specimens that come out of there the better the chances that the land owner will allow the museum (and its volunteers) back again for yet another season of discovery.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken