California dump yields glimpse of 19th century Army life

Archeologists retrieve artifacts as they learn about 19th century life at the Presidio Army base VIDEO CNN's Rusty Dornin takes us to the excavation of a 19th century army trash dump Windows Media 28K 80K

July 16, 1999
Web posted at: 1:44 p.m. EDT (1744 GMT)

SAN FRANCISCO (CNN) -- Archeologists looking for a glimpse of 19th century U.S. Army life are digging around at San Francisco's Presidio Army base -- in what was once the garbage dump.

"We're actually looking at the remnants of everyday life -- the worn-out shoe brushes they used to polish their shoes and the empty shoe polish bottles," said archeologist Richard Ambro.

Indeed, this largest-ever excavation of a historical dump on a military base has uncovered everything from bottles to buttons -- even the bones from the meat the soldiers ate.

Shattered plates, including ceramics from both Japan and China, indicate who was who at the base. While some folks used low-brow Army-issue material, Ambro said other households used "the fancy stuff that you would expect on the table of the wives of the officers."

Back in the 19th century, military life was very different than it is today, according to Leo Barker, an archeologist with the National Park Service.

"It's not as regimented," he said. "People had to ferret on their own and get the things they needed for their life ... that weren't provided by the quartermaster."

During the excavation, artifacts from the Ohlone Indians, dating back hundreds of years, were also unearthed.

Once the site has been excavated, it will be restored to its pre-historic state -- as a wetlands marsh.

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