Summary of the 2015 field season at Fort Hunter

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 18^th 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 19^th and 20^th 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 19^th century and non-diagnostic artifacts such as rusted metal, nails and bone dominated the collection, more 18^th 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 18^th 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 18^th 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 18^th 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. 

For more information, visit PAarchaeology.state.pa.us or the Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology at The State Museum of Pennsylvania .

Analyzing Stone Axes

       Hello my name is Tamara Eichelberger, and I was an intern during the spring semester with the Section of Archaeology at the State Museum of Pennsylvania. I have been interested in anthropology since I was a kid after I picked up a copy of National Geographic. I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in anthropology in high school and became a Sociology-Anthropology major at Elizabethtown College. While at Elizabethtown, I participated in archaeological digs at the Washington Boro site in Lancaster County and also in Trim, Ireland. I also worked for two weeks at the Museum of Copenhagen helping to wash, catalog, and analyze a collection of human skeletal remains. I got to spend my final spring semester of my senior year at The State Museum of Pennsylvania, and it was such a wonderful experience for me.

Recording catalog information in preparation for analysis.



            While I spent some time organizing some documents donated to the museum at the beginning of my internship, the majority of my time was spent working with the collection of Native American axes housed at the museum. There are over 700 axes in the collection which were donated by private individuals in the early years of collecting. These collections were not cataloged and organized to today’s standards and had never undergone a comprehensive analysis. It was my job to go through over 50 boxes and make sure each axe had a unique catalog number and to measure and analyze the different features of the axes. The ultimate aim of the project is not only to catalog and measure the axes so the Museum has a record of them, but to also to do research on these axes. There have been few studies done on Native American axes in Pennsylvania so this project will add to our knowledge of stone tools in the area.

 

Tray of axes which illustrates the variety of axes analyzed.

         Before coming to the Section of Archaeology, I did not have much experience with stone tools or curation in general. I worked closely with Dr. Kurt Carr and several of the other staff throughout my time at the museum. I learned about the cataloging process for the State Museum and was able to wash and label over 250 previously un-cataloged axes. After washing and labeling, we worked to create an Access data base so we could record the different features and measurements of the axes. This was the most difficult part of the process as time and time again we came across an axe that stumped us and forced us to add in new variables to the analysis. I learned a lot about the manufacture of the axes and the variety of different uses they could have had. There was so much variety in the different axes that it felt almost impossible at times to fit them all in to the data base. However, this catalog will help us to learn more about the varieties of axes so I am excited about what we can learn once it is completed.

Measuring and weighing each axe with electronic calipers.

My favorite experience this semester was working in the Nature Lab in the State Museum. The Nature Lab is a place where different divisions of the museum can share the work they do with visitors to the museum. Three times during my internship, I packed up a cart full of scales, axes, diagrams, and other tools and set myself up in the Nature Lab. I was able to talk to many interested visitors about the axe project and what kind of work I was doing as an intern. For me, the most rewarding part of archaeology is being able to share findings and history with others, and the Nature Lab allowed me to do just that. Many of the people who visited the Nature Lab were children who were on field trips to the Museum for the day. I loved to watch their eyes light up with amazement every time I told them that the axes I passed around to them were thousands of years old. They also asked many great questions about the axes, archaeology, and Native American culture. I can only hope that they will continue to be interested in learning more about the past in the future.

Sharing my research in the Science Lab at The State Museum of Pennsylvania.

 

I could not be more grateful for all of the help that everyone gave me at the Museum during the semester. After working with the Section of Archaeology, I realized that I could see myself working at a museum as a curator in the future. I gained so many valuable hands-on skills that will help me in the future as I head off to graduate school for bioarchaeology in the fall. Although my internship at the museum has ended, and I will be graduating from Elizabethtown College very soon, the axe project has not been fully completed. The next intern with the Section of Archaeology will pick up on the project where I left off. After spending a whole semester working with the axes, I want to continue to help with the project and hope to visit the Museum again in the summer as a volunteer.

For more information, visit PAarchaeology.state.pa.us or the Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology at The State Museum of Pennsylvania .

Questions, Questions, Questions

This week’s guest blog is courtesy of Deron Sharp, currently interning with the State Museum’s Section of Archaeology. A senior at Elizabethtown College, Deron is a dual history and anthropology/sociology major and is considering pursuing a career in the field of archaeology upon graduation.

During the first half of my semester long internship in the Archaeology Lab of the Pennsylvania State Museum, I have been blessed with a phenomenal group of mentors to learn from. This group of people, who’s careers are dedicated to the preservation of history and the study and practice of archaeology, have emphasized the importance of developing questions while researching and maintaining the Museum’s vast collection of over four million artifacts.

One of the major questions that continues to emerge numerous times throughout my experience here pertains to education. I learn more, not only about archaeology and museum collections, but about culture and history in my few months here, than I did in my early years as a middle school and high school student. Why is this? Also, what can be done to place these opportunities in the hands of younger students?

I do not have any answers to these questions. However, a run-threw of what an archaeology lab assistant or technician does may help others come to an answer. The first weeks of my internship here have been extremely educational and exciting! The project I embarked on was a Cultural Resource Management collection prepared by the Louis Berger Group, Inc. for the U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons. This collection was donated to the Museum by the U.S Department of Justice.

As a lab assistant, the project was to audit, accession, and shelve the collection. The artifacts were excavated from a phase one archaeological survey of a proposed U.S penitentiary site in Canaan Township, Wayne County. One of my favorite things about auditing collections is the vast amount of background research that is done on the area being excavated. The site report includes the landscape of the site, which in this case is labeled as open fields with streams to the south and east. Also included in the site report is the history of the land. The particular site had a railroad grade and farm complex, along with residential housing. None of these were present at the time of excavations, with only small remains of the railroad grade.

The audit can be a time consuming process, but also the most interesting and fun! Because every artifact needs to be accounted for, this process can take weeks. However, the artifacts themselves open windows to different cultures and time periods. It is fascinating to handle flakes thousands of years old, observe the many different types of historical nails, compare the different sizes of glass and determine their uses, or admire the pottery and wares of a time period! The lab assistants here have a remarkable eye for detail and because all of these items have to be counted and stored, an unbelievable level of organization. The accession process was as simple as handing the audited inventory to the Registrar’s Office. Also, shelving was not much different then the final scene of Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Arc, with the exception of technologically advanced condensed storing units, controlled humidity and temperature, and a vast storage database.

Select artifacts from the William Munson House (36Wy136)

Each artifact raised numerous questions in my head, and I would love to thank the team for putting up with, and helping to answering them. Through this process, I was able to dig deep into an era of history, this so happened to be the late 1800’s to early 1900’s, and acquire an understanding for the way of life in which these people lived. I learned so much in such a short amount of time, that I began to wonder why I am only now being exposed to this type of learning. Answering the questions I mentioned earlier will take some time, if they can be answered. However, as a student in both the educational and museum worlds, I can see a huge benefit for students who spend time with the opportunities of learning a museum provides. I would suggest that some serious thought be given to help merge these two worlds in order to better educate tomorrow’s future.

*Thank you to the six individuals who make this blog possible; who alone manage, collect, and maintain the over four million and counting artifacts.

For more information, visit PAarchaeology.state.pa.us or the Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology at The State Museum of Pennsylvania .