Ground Penetrating Radar arrives

     Today, Elizabeth Wilson, owner of a company called Tomb Geophysics, arrived to conduct a survey of Yarrow's lot using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR).  Like so many who have contributed their time and money to this project, Elizabeth is not charging for the survey.  

       GPR provides an image of what lies under the ground much like an MRI shows what's inside your body, although the technology is different.  The quality of the image and how far it reaches below ground depend on several factors.  However, Elizabeth said the sandy soil that showed up in the test pits is conducive for getting good images.  

  

       Of course, interpreting GPR results takes training.   The images are not like photographs and show things in three dimensions, not two.  They are another tool, though, that the archaeologists can use to figure out what's under the ground and where to dig next.

        Since Elizabeth is donating her time, her business deserves a plug.  It's Tomb Geophysics, www.tombgeophysics.com.  And she can be reached at (771) 733-0930 and ewilson@tombgeophysics.com.   

Visitors to the dig

      On August 14, members of several mosques in Washington D.C. visited Yarrow's lot.  Reasoning there might not have been anyone around to offer an Islamic prayer for the dead when Yarrow was interred on the property at his death in 1823, those attending this August joined in giving the prayer.

      On August 22, some of Yarrow's "family" visited.  He has no living blood relatives, but his daughter-in-law, Mary "Polly" Turner Yarrow does.  Alice Truiett is her great, great, great, great niece. Alice's grandmother, Emma Turner, knew Polly Yarrow, although she did not pass down any stories about her.  Still, the volunteers who have been doing the archaeology to unearth traces of Yarrow were pleased to meet Alice and her daughter Robin Truiett-Theodorson and make a human connection to the man.  Pictured below are Robin, Ruth Trocolli, the city archaeologist, Alice, and Jim Johnston.   The photograph below that shows the volunteers at work during the visit.