YORK, Maine -- Using remote sensing equipment to detect and record inconsistencies in the ground, Salem State College geology students have completed the first part of a two-phase site study in York, Maine. Members of the summer class "Geology Field Studies" spent June 12-17 gathering data on the land around the Bragdon-Ramsdell House on Lindsay Road in York. The data will be used in the second phase of the project when archeologist and Salem State College history professor Tad Baker leads a team of volunteers back to the site on July 8 for escavation work.

Students are: Matthew Almeida, John McRobbie, Tracey Dionne, Jennifer-Lee Van Dyke and Rebecca Wronkowski of Peabody, Lisa Shaw and Heidi Stortz of Reading, Tracey Arvin of Stow, Daniel Binkney of Newburyport, Todd Dyer of Haverhill, Kevin Kitchin of Salisbury, Don Lac of Malden, Penny Lapatovich of Boxford, Loren Martinuk of Lynn, John Michaud of Beverly, Richard Rizza of Saugus, Michelle Souza of Danvers, and Richard Souza of Middletown, R.I.

"This is a rare, if not unique opportunity to get a glimpse of what life was like for the common man in the early days of York," said Scott Stevens, executive director of the Old York Historical Society. "What is truly remarkable about this house is its size," Stevens added. "It is much more representative of York's early houses than the larger and grander homes that have survived," he said.

Over time, most of these modest structures have been turned into storage sheds or razed, Stevens explained. None has remained so structurally unchanged.

For more information, call the Old York Historical Society at (207) 363-4974, e-mail at oyhs@oldyork.org , or Baker at (978) 542-7126 or Sablock at (978) 542-6493. Information is available on-line at or http://www.salemstate.edu/~ebaker/volunteer.html

View some photos of students and faculty at work on the site. [photos]