Posted by Tim on August 25, 2001 at 10:38:03:
This may interest you..The guys have dug up some interesting things this summer..Remember that Fort George is the "Fortified Camp" and that the massacre took place right there on the military road.
Regards, Tim
Volunteers unearth history
Lake George | Dig at Fort George proves area's rich history
By THOM RANDALL
randall@poststar.com
LAKE GEORGE -- Archaeologist David Starbuck held out a reproduction of a 1759 map of the Fort George-Battlefield Park area at the southern end of Lake George.
The map had been prepared at the pivotal time in American history when British Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Amherst constructed a series of forts and barracks as part of his expedition against the French in Ticonderoga and Crown Point.
The map shows barracks, hospital infirmaries and a large bastion, or wooden wall, all associated with Fort George, an important outpost in the French and Indian War and for decades after.
For about six weeks this summer, as many as 60 volunteer archaeologists have been digging up artifacts that soldiers and their officers left behind -- pieces of eating utensils, dishes, pieces of guns and medical supplies.
Their findings -- which proved the location of many of the buildings on the map -- were taken from about 19 sites this year, in contrast to only four sites excavated last year.
On Thursday, the archeologists, volunteers and students of the Archaeology Field School at Adirondack Community College gathered with state and local officials to celebrate the end of the year's archaeological dig.
"This year's findings are important because we are getting the 'big picture' of military life here in the late 1700s," Starbuck said. "Some of the richest military history in the nation is right here, from an era when Lake George and Fort Edward were major players on the world stage."
The artifacts unearthed this year not only confirm the existence of buildings depicted on the historic map, but are remarkably intact and tell a vivid story, said archaeology crew leader John Farrell of Athol.
Just two days ago, members of his crew unearthed a complete musket barrel from a "Brown Bess" gun that apparently ruptured some time in the 18th century after a British soldier packed it too full with powder and fired it.
But this corroded cylindrical artifact looked crude compared with another item unearthed in the dig -- an ornately engraved buckle believed to have served as a clasp on a British officer's necktie from the same era.
Perhaps the most intriguing artifact was a combination sundial and compass, Starbuck said. The brass instrument was discovered in what is believed to be the site of an officer's hut from the late 18th century near Fort George.
"Only one other compass like this has ever been excavated in the region," Starbuck said.
The last one was found by Earl Stott decades ago on Rogers Island in Fort Edward.
The sundial/compass has a threaded case that is corroded shut, but it may be opened later by experts in artifact preservation to avoid possible damage, Starbuck said.
The case bears the Roman numeral 29, which probably refers to the 29th British regiment of about 7,000 foot soldiers that came down from Canada through the Lake Champlain-Lake George region to Saratoga in 1777 under the command of Gen. John "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne, Starbuck said.
Or it could have been the return of that same regiment in 1780 under the command of Col. Carleton, when soldiers butchered people as they moved through the area, he said.
Other artifacts uncovered in this year's dig include a brass cufflink, a medicine spoon fragment, a stone fishing weight, two brass shoe buckles and pieces of hardware including an iron lock, a 6-inch bolt and ring, and a door latch assembly.
Several archaeologists at Thursday's event said state ownership of the Fort George Battlefield Park for 100 years has preserved the artifacts in their environment for not only historians, but future generations.
"At many other places around the state, urban sprawl has destroyed other significant military sites," said Philip Lord, director of the New York State Museum. "Here, the artifacts have been protected."
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