I had passed the elm knot for Unearthed 2 on several different walks along the creek. At first, I didn’t pay much attention to the piece. It looked too rotten to refine, and it was partially buried in the dirt. After I had seen the results of refining Unearthed 1 however, I decided to dig it up. The curved shape was remarkable but badly deteriorated. I began removing the layers of rot until I exposed the solid wood underneath. The knot was stained black from its time underground, and no amount of sanding could remove the color. I decided to seal the piece with tung oil and allow it to dry, but I was not satisfied with the finish. Fortunately, the oil bonded to the black surface and came off when I re-sanded the piece. To my surprise, the entire knot was covered in spalting. The piece I had almost passed up became one of my favorites.