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Monitor of statue foundation excavation, Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site

Author(s)
Report Number
8499
Year of Publication
2012
County
Abstract

The hole excavated was roughly octagon-shaped, with rounded corners and it measured 8 X 8 feet from side to side. The sculptor originally thought the hole needed to be 3 feet deep, but the builders convinced him such a deep excavation was unnecessary. When completed the hole bottom was 16 inches deep from stringline and 14 inches deep from top of the highest ground surface. That means the ground surface sloped slightly toward Auburn Avenue.

I monitored and troweled through the excavated soil as it was shoveled into wheelbarrows. From top to bottom only fill material was excavated. The soil was mostly clay beneath the top sod. In places there were pockets of clay mixed with fine gravel. Throughout there were large and small intact and crumbled chunks of brick which gave every shovel-full a mottled red-yellow-brown-black appearance.

In short, the only material removed was fill, probably brought in or bulldozed into place when the Community Center was landscaped. 1 did note examples of the following material, made a small representative collection; and deposited the collection at the Park Headquarters.