Archaeologists are digging for history again at Fort Hawkins during October, trying to map the outer palisade wall of the frontier fort built in 1808.
The wall was likely built for extra protection during the War of 1812. The non-profit Fort Hawkins Commission plans to use the results of the dig as the blueprint for building a replica palisade in time for the war’s bicentennial next year.
After only a few days’ work in muddy red clay, Daniel Elliott and his mostly volunteer team have found fragments of frontier-era guns, white and green glazed plates, and an odd squatting pewter dog figurine, Elliott said.
The tops of wooden posts from the palisade wall were barely visible Wednesday through a thin layer of dirt at the bottom of a 3-foot-deep trench.
Russell Lewis of Macon used a trowel to scrape layers of dirt into a dust pan, then a bucket. Then Gene Green of Byron sifted the soil through a large, framed screen, looking for burned bones, pottery, or anything else unusual.
“I wanted to be an archaeologist when I was a little kid, but I ended up working on the family dairy farm in Monroe County,” Green said. “I’ve been like a kid at Christmas, I’ve been so excited to come be a part of this.”
The last archaeological dig at Fort Hawkins ended in 2007.
Author: S. Heather Duncan | Source: Macon Com [October 12, 2011]
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| Archaeologists from The LAMAR Institute in Savannah and volunteers perform an archaeological dig at Fort Hawkins Tuesday morning [Credit: JasonN Vorhees/Telegraph] |
After only a few days’ work in muddy red clay, Daniel Elliott and his mostly volunteer team have found fragments of frontier-era guns, white and green glazed plates, and an odd squatting pewter dog figurine, Elliott said.
The tops of wooden posts from the palisade wall were barely visible Wednesday through a thin layer of dirt at the bottom of a 3-foot-deep trench.
Russell Lewis of Macon used a trowel to scrape layers of dirt into a dust pan, then a bucket. Then Gene Green of Byron sifted the soil through a large, framed screen, looking for burned bones, pottery, or anything else unusual.
“I wanted to be an archaeologist when I was a little kid, but I ended up working on the family dairy farm in Monroe County,” Green said. “I’ve been like a kid at Christmas, I’ve been so excited to come be a part of this.”
The last archaeological dig at Fort Hawkins ended in 2007.
Author: S. Heather Duncan | Source: Macon Com [October 12, 2011]