Construction personnel and UC Berkeley archaeologists have been digging side by side since Friday, after workers unearthed a few antique bottles possibly belonging to the oldest UC Berkeley fraternity house.

The site is conveniently located behind 2251 College Ave., the headquarters of the archaeology department. So far, whiskey bottles, porcelain cups and a bone toothbrush have been found, articles that may date back as early as the 1880s.

The artifacts are thought to be remnants of Zeta Psi, a fraternity that was housed in what is now the archaeology building. The UC Berkeley chapter of the fraternity was founded in 1870, and occupied the brick building until the early 1950s when it moved off campus to 2728 Bancroft Way.

Archaeologists continued to work yesterday, pulling up several liquor and beer bottles, ceramics inlaid with the fraternal crest and smaller bottles that may have been used for cosmetics or medicine. The objects may provide a glimpse of "fraternity life at the turn of the century," according to Mark Hall, the archaeology laboratory director.

"It is a great opportunity to see how in this case a particular fraternity was living," said Laurie Wilkie, professor of historical archaeology.

"It really is part of our campus heritage here," she added.

Zeta Psi members and alumni were excited to hear about the discovery.

"I think it's interesting. I'd like to go see the stuff," member Egan Sieply said.

The Zeta Psi fraternity has a long history at UC Berkeley. Coming to the campus in 1870, it was the first fraternity founded west of the Mississippi River, according to Zeta Psi alumni Philip Boone.

"We were the first ones here and we are one of the strongest fraternities at Cal. We are proud to have been part of the Cal story for 120 years now," Boone said.

Porcelain teacups with the fraternity's insignia were what led the archaeologists to believe the findings were refuse from the house.

Wilkie and her colleagues were then able to date the bottles by looking at their features. Some of the bottles were manufactured, indicating that they were produced after 1903. Before this date, bottles were hand blown into molds.

Additional attributes of the glass and ceramics showed they were produced in the early 1900s.

The archaeologists will have to hand over the site to construction workers today. In California law, there are no provisions to allow excavations from this time period to delay construction plans. It must be proved that a site is at least 100 years old for excavation to continue.

"These issues happen all over the country all the time. A major part of archaeology in the United States is associated with construction and development work," said Peter Mills, an anthropology graduate student specializing in archaeology.

Several construction projects on campus have been going on for the past year. Archaeologists working on the Zeta Psi site said it is possible some interesting artifacts could have been found during this time.

"When you sit down and think about all the construction projects that have been going on all these months, it is kind of frightening what has been lost," Hall said.

In fact, Wilkie stumbled upon this site, which happens to lie right outside of her office, when she saw workmen carrying away bottles and other objects.

"This is the closest I have ever excavated to my office," Wilkie said.

Other archaeologists working on the two-day dig took advantage of the fortuitous opportunity.

"I spent my whole graduate career in that building and I never thought I would be digging an archaeological site right here," Tom Wake said.

©1995 Daily Californian