Watched a volunteer at Mesa Verde brush dirt off a 700 year old sandal and I had to ask him why

Jason Robinson · 2026-09-15T03:45:05.108388+00:00

Last spring I was walking the loop at Mesa Verde and stopped at a table where a guy from the park's research team was cleaning artifacts pulled from a alcove dig. He picked up a woven sandal, maybe 700 years old, and just flicked the dust off it with a dry paintbrush while we talked. I asked if that ever made him nervous and he laughed and said the sandal had already survived centuries of wind and mice, a little dust was nothing. Then he let me look through the magnifier and I could actually see the little twist in the yucca fibers where somebody's hands made it. Anyone else here get to watch lab work up close like that? I'd love to know what small finds surprised you the most.

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Watched a volunteer at Mesa Verde brush dirt off a 700 year old sandal and I had to ask him why | Archaeology Discoveries - Rigidtalk