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Wooden beam Even with research into deeds, old maps, and resources such as county histories, historical finds can still prove enigmatic. This large wooden beam, found when an MVAC field crew shovel tested and surface surveyed an island in western Wisconsin, was one such mystery. Though the beam might at first look like a downed log, it was clearly worked by human hands, with a tapered end and square iron spikes driven into it. It was not clear, however, if it was in its original position or had washed up onto the relatively low-lying island. One shovel test near the beam contained glass and lead fragments but nothing else to provide information about the beam and its use. A possible mooring was found north of the beam, and log booms were located near the island in the 1800s, but it is not known if the beam was related to them.