Bodacious Ballerina at Banzai Bluff
Rita and I conducted a Ground Penetrating Radar demonstration class in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands last week. A good time was had by all! Eighteen people attended the class, including representatives of the CNMI Historic Preservation Office, other CNMI agencies, utilities, and a private consulting firm. Special thanks to Roy Sablan, Jr. and his staff for making our stay very pleasant. We enjoyed meeting and sharing with everyone. Highlights included field surveys at three historic site locations on the island: a suspected Carolinian cemetery, the old Japanese Jail, and the old Japanese Hospital. In addition, we took our GPR equipment to Kalabera Cave on Saturday (our day off!) and did a survey of two areas. We were assisted by archaeologists Marilyn Swift, Randy Harper, and Mike Fleming, all of whom (Swift and Harper Archaeological Resource Consultants) are currently involved in an Environmental Assessment of the cave and its surroundings.
This represents the first research/educational effort by the LAMAR Institute in the Pacific arena. A few photos of the project are shown below.
GPR Class Group Photo, Old Japanese Jail, Saipan, September, 2008.
GPR Survey in Kalabera CaveGPR Survey in Kalabera Cave.
Class in Session
