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Unseen inside the earth pillar a steel pier helps support the Siebenberg house, now separated by excavation from its foundation. Before excavation began, the steel shaft was sunk to rest on bedrock; then excavation proceeded around it. The earth was not removed from around the steel pier, leaving the impression that an earthen pier supports the house. The earth pillar, like an excavation balk, preserves in its strata a record of the past. Stripes indicate layers of earth formed by ancient debris accumulation at different times. Thick dark bands are ash layers deposited in the past when fire destroyed the structures on the site.