2025 USD Dig Underway
Our 2025 Soap Suds Row dig is underway!
Thirteen students from the University of South Dakota’s Anthropology and Archaeology program are attending their field school at the Bear Butte Creek Historic Preserve. The dig is sponsored by the Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission.
The dig began on June 2, 2025, and will conclude by June 13. Dr. Tony Krus from USD is leading the dig with the assistance of archaeologist Aaron Mayer. Volunteers include Blake Anderson, Logan Lamphere, Mike Fosha, Brenda Shierts, Cher Burgess and Alec Anton.
This is the fourth season working on Soap Suds Row, where Army laundresses lived and worked during the time of Old Fort Meade, 1878-1944.
Students have learned to conduct shovel test pits, use a Trimble GPS, do a survey, excavate and document 1×1 meter units, and clean and process artifacts, among other things. Students also attended Sturgis & Meade County History Day, where Krus and Mayer presented the findings from the 2024 dig.
