At the beginning of the 2015 field
season, we had 3 goals for the Fort Hunter excavation: investigate the icehouse
to verify its function; to clean up and clarify the foundation east of the icehouse
believed to be the octagon shaped smoke house; and to open new excavation units
by the mansion to seek out any evidence of the block house beyond the foot
print of the mansion.
Screening with a little help from
our friends
As usual, our investigation plans for
this year were greater than our staff and loyal volunteers could handle
although we made a valiant try. Our screens were humming, producing over 12,000
artifacts but the opening of new units or features was not as extensive as we had
planned. In the block east of the milk house (see below), we were able to
expose the complete foundation of the building we think is the octagon
shaped smoke house referenced in an 1828 account, unfortunately most of the
other features in this excavation block were not tested. We discovered that the
south and east walls of the stone foundation were in much better condition than
the north wall which appeared to have
been disturbed or “robbed”.
The
octagon smoke house with a circular foundation and the attached structure
containing the stove to introduce the smoke.
We
troweled around Feature 110, situated in the middle of the circular foundation
and found a charcoal/organic stain covered with a mix of topsoil and
subsoil (“A” & “B” horizons). It appears that the dark stain was in the
bottom of a hole and covered with fill. The smoke for this octagon shaped smoke
house was reportedly introduced from a stove outside of the building. This
charcoal stain may be the remains of a square shaped smoke house that preceded
the octagon in which the smoke was generated from inside. A partial excavation
of this feature last year produced a few possible 18th century
artifacts and will require careful study next year.
West
side of milk house illustrating the exposed foundation
Our investigation of the structure
formally known as the “icehouse” and now labeled as the milk house was
significantly more rewarding. Our first indication that it was not an icehouse
came early in the season while excavating the deeply stratified prehistoric
horizons west of this structure. These investigations revealed that the
foundation was less than six feet deep which did not agree with the historic account
that describes the icehouse as over 15 feet deep.
Jim
Herbstritt working inside the milk house
Following
the removal of the wooden floor boards and exposing a tightly paved brick floor,
followed by auguring beneath the brick, it turns out the brick was laid on a
thin disturbed soil layer followed by the natural soil profile of Pleistocene
sands and cobbles. In addition, a closer look at a recessed hole in the west
wall revealed that it had been patched from the outside with cement – probably
placed there when the building was upgraded in the 1970’s.
Auguring
inside the milk house
In our re-analysis of the building’s function,
it’s placement over the edge of the well foundation is significant. It is
hypothesized that water was pumped from the well, through the hole in the west wall
and into wooden containers that held cans of milk, cider or other liquids to be
cooled. These were periodically emptied and the running water drained out the
back of the building.
The
interior drain in the milk house
Finally, we removed several rows of
brick from the floor along the west wall of the milk house and exposed the
interior builder’s trench and a disturbance in the southwest corner. The well
is situated just outside this corner and the excavation of this disturbance may
date the well, date the milk house and elucidate the functional relationship
between these two structures. Dating these structures is extremely important
for reconstructing the arrangement of buildings and their functions during the early
McAllister occupation. Next year, we will probably excavate the entire
builder’s trench and, if necessary, the disturbed soil under the brick floor to recover a datable assemblage of artifacts. Currently, we only have an
1828 reference to the well, milk house and octagon shaped smoke house. However,
we believe the well is the oldest of these structures and probably was one of
the first structures built by McAllister or possibly Mr. Hunter at an even earlier date.
The
drain on the exterior of the north wall
Mary
Clyne developing a scale drawing of the west wall
Now that the milk house has been
completely exposed on the interior and the bottom of the exterior exposed on
two sides, our intern from Elizabethtown College, Mary Clyne, is completing
scale drawings of the walls and floor. These will be digitalized to accurately
document the structure and hopefully clarify how it functioned.
Mary
Clyne working inside the milk house
Porch Trench
The Excavation along the porch brought us back to the 18th century occupation and the investigation of frontier life in Pennsylvania. Four (5x5 ft.) units were placed along the brick
porch of the McAllister mansion. The first soil layer was the typical 19th
and 20th century “A” horizon that we identify as Strat 1 and is
found across the site in this area of the yard. Below this soil, a lighter
brown “A” horizon was uncovered that we have labeled Strat 2. These two soil
strata were identified during our first season at Fort Hunter and they are
found south of the milk house and for the most part are absent in the
excavation units east and west of the milk house. Strat 2 lies directly above
the “B” horizon that is designated Strat 3. Although 19th century and
non-diagnostic artifacts such as rusted metal, nails and bone dominated the
collection, more 18th century artifacts were recovered from these
units than all 15 units opened west of the milk house. The list includes
gunflints of French and English flint, musket balls, tin-glazed earthenware,
brass scrap and most interestingly, several early 18th century glass
trade beads. There are references in the historic record that Mr. Hunter was
trading with the Indians and these artifacts hwlp support the historic account.
We were unable to complete the porch
trench and did not reach the “B” horizon subsoil although a transitional “A”/”B”
zone was exposed. Most of Strat 2 is deeper in the porch trench than elsewhere and
it may represent a large depression or hole in the 18th century
surface. Next year, we will continue in this unit and expand it to the north
and east.
Both historic and prehistoric
archaeology tests hypotheses and explanations of past cultural behavior. In
addition, historic archaeology is a process for testing and verifying the
historic record. To a degree, it is a more objective examination of history
than documents alone. This season, we were able to correct the historic record
and develop a more accurate description of the McAllister functional
arrangement of buildings. As usual, we resolved some issues but discovered new
ones.
To summarize, next year we will continue
working inside the milk house to date this structure and better understand its
relationship to the well. We will expand our excavation along the porch as this area contains a high density of 18th century artifacts that may relate to
the fort site or either the Hunter or McAllister occupations. We will also further
define the features around the smoke house.
We are starting to get a better picture
of the cultural landscape of Fort Hunter. Mr. Hunter and Mr. McAllister were true
entrepreneur and we are beginning to uncover the early projects that made them
and their families successful.
Finally, our other goal at Fort Hunter
is to show the public how field archaeology is conducted. Towards that end we
interacted with over 2700 visitors this season.
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