Archaeological Research

Data Recovery at the Andersen Dairy

Becky Raines, Marketing and Business Assistant, and Brian Lane, Archaeologist

In summer 2022, museum archaeologists began excavating a dump site near the historic Andersen Dairy, working to preserve the artifacts found in that site before the Bend North Corridor of Highway 97 was rerouted over the land. The site was very close to the historic house of Nels and Lillian Anderson.

The Oregon State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) had identified the site as historic in 2010. With ODOT’s proposal for realigning the Bend North Corridor, museum archaeologists needed to preserve the artifacts of the site.

Their first task was to confirm the site boundaries. They used probes to find the areas where no cultural materials were present, then the areas where artifacts began appearing in the soil, and established a clear map of the site. Researchers conducted methodical hand excavations and excavated 7.75 square meters from this site. 

After two weeks in the field, the team brought the 2400 found items to the museum for cleaning, study, and conservation. The assemblage is largely made up of items associated with daily domestic activities. Some appear to be related to work in the dairy, like faunal bones and quart milk bottles. 

As they clean, identify, and catalogue these objects, we’ll share them here on Fieldnotes and on social media.

For more information on this project, check out the page on our website.